Councillor and co-chair of the environmental delivery committee, Kate Wilson, welcomed the decision, saying the community had shown that large scale catchment wide approach was the most effective delivery model.

“It had been well supported through consultation and provided for intergenerational impact, collaboration and also aligns with organisational strategic direction to support environmental outcomes,”  she says.

The delivery committee’s other co-chair and Councillor, Lloyd McCall, says the ability for ORC to be able to support and enable community led environmental action at scale is an excellent opportunity. 

“There is already significant investment that the community are contributing to environmental outcomes and to be able to support more of this to happen on the ground is vital to enhance what we have for future generations,” Mr McCall says. 

At a full Council meeting in Dunedin yesterday, Councillors unanimously endorsed the proposal for staff to progress implementation of the prioritised funding model.

The $2 million per-year fund will initially be funded from Council reserves and comes into effect from 1 July 2025. The new fund is separate from the ORC’s annual ECO Fund.

Manager Environmental Implementation, Libby Caldwell says on collaboration across the system, ORC will take a leadership role of the funding system, but local leadership and action will be driven by communities to achieve sustained environmental outcomes.

In considering ORC alignment to organisational strategy and strategic direction, Mrs Caldwell says that covers “knowing that the right investment decisions are being made in the right place at the right time to support ORC’s strategic directions and the goals set by Council”.

Through the annual plan process the decision was also made in the Council meeting yesterday to proceed with funding this programme of work.