Applications have opened for the Westpac Water Care Project grants, which give six community and catchment groups the chance to claim $10,000 each to support an initiative in their area.

The grants are available to any group working on environmental projects that improve the quality and health of waterways – through initiatives such as stream restoration, planting and pest control.

For the last four years the Westpac NZ and NZ Landcare Trust partnership has provided much-needed financial and volunteer help to passionate locals to protect their natural surroundings.

Last year’s grants funded the planting of more than 4900 native plants; the installation of 133 pest control traps; the establishment of two bio-monitoring programmes; and the improvement of four wetlands.

NZ Landcare Trust chief executive Nick Edgar said grant funding was really important to small environmental groups, who knew their communities and waterways best.

“Collective action is critical to conserving our waterways to protect biodiversity, and to connect communities,” said Dr Edgar. 

“By providing local groups with funding to get their projects under way, we give them the means to get really aspirational about what they could achieve.” 

Westpac NZ Head of Agribusiness Richard Anderson said the community waterways projects already funded had benefitted thousands of people across the country.

“Healthy and thriving waterways are a big part of our lifestyles and who we are as New Zealanders, which is what makes this partnership with NZ Landcare Trust so important,” he said.

“Talking to farmers and community groups at the recent Northern, Central and Southern Fieldays events, it was great to see the passion of our rural communities for looking after their land, their waterways and the environment for the benefit of their business and the wider community.

“This is a really important partnership for Westpac – our bankers and other teams put in hundreds of volunteer hours every year to work alongside these great local groups on projects in their own backyard.”

Applications for this year’s grants close on May 31. Interested groups can check if they meet the criteria and register their interest in funding on the Westpac Water Care Project website.