Wellington City Council’s Pītau Pūmanawa | Grants Subcommittee has approved funding for 56 projects with grants totalling over $820K across a wide range of recipients.

The recent funding round of recipients includes a project to divert organic brewing waste from landfill, a theatre experiment with Wellington refugee youth actors, a Toi Māoribilingual literary art project, StarJam’s music-based workshops for youth with disabilities, three community sports facilities, and continued funding for Vincents’ Art Workshop and the Wellington Timebank.

The majority of grant recipients align with Council’s key priorities by increasing and encouraging diversity in our communities, supporting local creative talent, reducing carbon emissions, and building partnerships and connections with mana whenua.

"It’s awesome to see so many fantastic community groups and local businesses being supported to make a positive change here in Pōneke,” says Mayor Tory Whanau.

One of the major recipients, Brewwell LTD trading as Garage Project, will get $75,000 from the Waste Minimisation Seed Fund to go towards infrastructure to separate yeast and hop solids in the brewing process, which will divert product from landfill to be turned into compost at Capital Compost.

Deputy Mayor Laurie Foon says this is an exciting initiative which is estimated to divert about 100 tonnes per year from the landfill, significantly reducing the business’s carbon footprint.

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“This project is easily measurable and will be a consistent diversion from landfill. It will also provide an opportunity to share findings and infrastructure plans with other businesses in the local brewing community.”

Committee Chair Nīkau Wi Neera says the range of grant recipients reflect the diversity, creativity and environmental concerns of the capital.

“For the Climate and Sustainability Fund, an initiative of Te Atakura – First to Zero, we had numerous applications aimed at reducing carbon emissions in Pōneke, some with a focus on Māori-led climate action projects.

“Kaicycle’s māra sessions for whānau Māori is a perfect example of this. Designed to educate, empower and wānanga traditional and sustainable growing practises, it supports the development of local, circular, low carbon food systems grounded in Te Ao Māori, and empowers Māori to take tangible climate action with the whenua.”

The Deputy Mayor was also very pleased to support Creative HQ to enable stronger participation from Māori innovators in the upcoming Clean Tech Summit.

“At a time when Wellington is experiencing cuts to the public sector, this summit is a good reminder of the success of our innovation and tech sector. I’m also very pleased that our funding will be used to support Māori participation in this fantastic event.”

For more information, how to apply for grants, and all recent and past allocations visit wellington.govt.nz/funding. Or for the detailed information check out the Pītau Pūmanawa Agenda.

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