Apply now for environmental, heritage or coastal funding

The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) is seeking applications for its Environmental Initiatives Fund (EIF), which funds environmental and heritage projects, and Coastal Enhancement Fund (CEF), which funds coastal projects.

The ARC has more than $700,000 available this year to grant to EIF and CEF projects.

EIF grants support community projects with an environmental or heritage focus. To be eligible for EIF, projects must be nonprofit and applicants are required to contribute half of the project costs. The maximum EIF grant people can apply for is $15,000.

Since the first EIF round in February 2000, $3.1 million has been allocated to 1254 community projects in the Auckland region.

Projects EIF has supported include stream plantings and restoration, wetland projects, historical church restorations, possum and rat eradication programmes, a lizard garden and worm farms.

The CEF, the ARC’s coastal fund, supports groups and individuals whose projects enhance, restore and protect Auckland's coastline. Organisations and incorporated societies are encouraged to apply for CEF grants.

CEF grants are provided to projects which fit into three categories:

• Safety and navigation improvements,
• Environmental enhancement, or
• Public works and infrastructure in the coastal marine area.

Projects funded by CEF include a water safety programme for children, beach clean-ups, a Brydes Whales research project and Day Skipper courses. The grants have also been used to purchase navigational safety aids and sewage pump-out facilities and marinas

In previous years the CEF was funded from seabed licence fees, which the ARC collected from Half Moon Bay Marina, West Park Marina and the Buckland’s Beach Yacht Club. The 2010 grants will be funded by rates because seabed licence fees are being phased out.

The closing date for both the EIF and CEF is 5pm Tuesday 27 April 2010. People can apply on-line for EIF (www.arc.govt.nz/eif) and CEF applications can be downloaded from www.arc.govt.nz/cef

The ARC is running a joint EIF and CEF workshop on Wednesday 7 April. For more information please visit www.arc.govt.nz/eif or www.arc.govt.nz/cef.

ENDS

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