existing whitebait projects already
underway.
The Authority also ear-marked up to
$250,000 for growing and planting
native trees and grasses to be
undertaken by schools in the catchment.
One of the projects is being overseen by
the Waikato District Council and builds
on the involvement of Waipa School,
Glen Massey School, Bernard Fergusson
School and the Newcastle and Galbraith
Street Kindergartens. Another funded
initiative by Trees for Survival
Trust and Waikato Regional
Council will involve up to
20 schools over a two year
period which will involve the
raising and planting of native
vegetation on the banks of
catchment waterways.
In order to enable a more
streamlined funding process
the Authority’s third funding
round was begun several
months earlier than previous
rounds. It is expected to
have decisions made on what clean-up
projects will be funded in this third
round before the end of the 2013
calendar year.
The Authority was pleased to be
The 2012 -2013 year for the Waikato River
Authority has been busy and productive
with the Authority’s second funding round
completed and the third round brought
forward and well underway.
of the Co-chairs
Report
The second funding round saw 60
applications seeking funding of $10.4
million from an available pool of $6
million.
Following the evaluation and decision-
making process the Authority funded 30
projects with $5 million allocated.
The major undertaking to be funded
was a five year-long project led by
NIWA to restore whitebait habitat in
the lower Waikato River which was
allocated up to $1.5 million. The project
is a partnership with other
organisations, including the
Waikato Raupatu River Trust.
Additional co-funding of
approximately $1.5 million
will give the project a total
budget of $3 million over the
five years.
The project is a
comprehensive approach
to whitebait restoration
including work with local
river communities to identify
critical habitat issues and
migration barriers. Best practice
restoration solutions will integrate both
traditional maatauranga Maaori and
contemporary scientific approaches.
The project will incorporate other
The second
funding
round saw 60
applications
seeking
funding of
$10.4 million
from an
available
pool of
$6 million.
Restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River
2
