Other funding sources
One of the things that teachers have requested time after time is how to get their hands on more money so that they can continue their Environmental Education journey without robbing a bank! Below are the main funders for Environmental Education that we know about. If you know or have heard of another funding source, we would love to hear from you.
World Wildlife Fund – Organic Gardens in Schools Fund
The WWF Organic Gardens in Schools Fund has been established to provide funding to schools that currently have, or want to have organic gardens as part of their environmental education programmes. The purpose of this fund is to help facilitate the wider uptake of organic gardening as part of the environmental education platform in New Zealand.
Grants of up to $3000 will be made available for purchasing gardening materials, seedlings and tools, wages for garden facilitators from the school’s community and teaching resources for the classroom.
Schools are invited to apply to the WWF Organic Gardens in Schools Fund.
Deadlines for applications are 1 March and 1 September.
World Wildlife Fund – Environmental Education Action Fund
Through the Environmental Education Action Fund, WWF New Zealand and The Tindall Foundation are supporting schools and community projects around the country that use education as a tool to encourage people to take action for their environment.
Funded Focus Areas:
- Have clearly defined learning outcomes that aim to address a specific environmental issue or issues.
- Facilitate, support or promote opportunities for people to take action for their environment.
- Have sound project planning and evaluation processes
- Provide evidence of strong community support .
- Enable teachers to deliver environmental education programmes as outlined in the Guidelines for Environmental Education in New Zealand Schools (Ministry of Education, 1999).
There are two funding rounds a year, with an annual disbursement of $40,000. Deadlines for applications are 1 April and 1 September.
BOC – Where There’s Water Community Environmental Grants
Where There's Water Community Environmental Grants provide funding to help the community understand, maintain, protect and improve their water environment. This includes streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries and beaches in urban and rural areas.
The objectives of the Where There’s Water Community Environmental Grants are to:
- Improve education opportunities for children to learn about their water environment
- Improve community awareness of the condition and importance of the water environment
- Assist schools and the community to participate in real action to maintain, protect and improve their water environment
Grants are available to schools, community groups and other non-profit organisations, for environmental projects that have a water focus. These projects should have public benefit rather than private gain.
Applications for funding of between $1,000 and $5,000 will be considered. BOC receive a number of applications for Where There's Water and usually fund about ten projects per year.
Sustainable Management Fund
The Sustainable Management Fund is funded by the Ministry for the Environment. It provides grants for the following five topic areas:
- Freshwater management initiatives
- 'Adopt A' schemes (eg adopt a stream)
- Urban sustainability
- Practical action to address climate change
- Waste minimisation and resource recovery
Funding Information Service
The Funding Informat