Increased funding for Tauranga Environment Centre

Environment Minister Nick Smith today announced the Tauranga Environment Centre will receive $60,000 from the Community Environment Fund to help it deal with local environmental issues – a $20,000 increase on last year’s funding.

“Environment Centres provide valuable support to community initiatives to improve the environment in their areas. The Tauranga Environment Centre has a strong reputation for providing practical tips on household sustainability including education on waste reduction and recycling. Projects the centre has supported in raising environmental awareness include the Sustainable Backyards programme and the National Jazz Festival,” Dr Smith said.

In addition the Tauranga Environment Centre will also benefit from its participation in a study to explore the feasibility of a nationwide Environment Centre network.
“This network would enable the centres to share ideas and achieve a level of national consistency that will help them better meet the needs of the Government and their communities.

“This boost in funding to the Tauranga Environment Centre is part of the Government’s overall funding increase of $89,000 to the country’s 12 Environment centres bringing total funding this year to $589,000.

“The Government recognises the important contribution that Environment Centres make in New Zealand. This additional funding will help centres like Tauranga manage the environmental challenges faced by their regions,” Dr Smith said.