Additional support for our local community groups to become more resilient and extra initiatives to help Aotea on its journey to zero waste are a couple of the new projects being funded in the next year by the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board.
Each financial year (which runs from from July-June), the board agrees on a plan to spend its budget, which aligns with the objectives in its Local Board Plan.
This year the board is putting extra funding into upskilling community groups by providing annual governance training to all local groups, and support to volunteers.
“By bolstering these groups and ensuring their trustees and members are trained and valued, we improve outcomes for our community,” says local board chair Izzy Fordham.
“This will have a positive impact on groups that support whānau wellbeing, rangatahi, tourism and use of te reo across the island, which are all priorities in the work we do as a local board.”
Another new initiative receiving over $12,000 of funding this year is the Aotea Zero Waste Leadership Facilitation Project.
The first of three elements to the project is a ‘Welcome to Aotea’ pack for new residents. The pack will be a set of printed A5 cards providing key information about important aspects of resilient life on Aotea.
Secondly, a ‘zero waste workshop’ series will be established, including upcycling workshops teaching sewing and mending, tool maintenance, homemade cleaning products, and more.
And the final element of the project will give the island’s key resource recovery workers the opportunity to visit mainland recycling centres including at least two facilities receiving goods from Aotea.
“These site visits will empower our community members to learn new practices to increase waste diversion from landfill,” says Izzy.
“With all the island’s rubbish needing to be transferred to the mainland, we want to do everything we can to minimise our waste.”
Find the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board’s full work programme for 2024/2025 on the agenda of the board’s June business meeting [PDF 53.5MBs].
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