Environmental Enhancement Contestable Fund

Applications open:  We will notify when the 2025 funding round will open in early 2025 
Applications close:

Thank you for all the incredible applications - You can read more about the 2024 successful applicants here

About us

Biodiversity Hawke’s Bay is a regional community-led 'for purpose' organisation established to work with, and on behalf of, the community to deliver on the objectives of the Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Strategy 2015-2050. 

About these grants

Annually, we offer a small number of grants to individuals and organisations in Hawke’s Bay to support projects that advance one or both of our two key goals:

1. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration:  These projects work to sustain, protect, and improve populations of native species, their habitats, and the ecosystem services they provide
2. Growing the Biodiversity Communities in Hawke’s Bay:  These projects actively connect our community through education, engagement, and collaborating in environmental restoration.

Grant categories

Support will be considered at one of two levels:

• $1,000-3,000 to support smaller or early-stage projects
• $3,001-15,000 to support larger or more established projects

Biodiversity Hawke’s Bay acknowledges the financial support from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in making this fund available.

Eligible Projects

Projects will be evaluated based on their likelihood of success in achieving one or more goals that advance the purposes of the Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Strategy 2015-2050 and HBRC’s Strategic Plan 2020 - 2025. Priority will be given to those applications with high biodiversity value, and those that engage or educate communities in biodiversity restoration, which may include management, protection, and information.

1. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration:

• Protect and/or enhance indigenous ecosystems including but not limited to threatened ecosystem sites as identified by HBRC Ecosystem Prioritisation system, and /or
• Protect and/or enhance a threatened or naturally uncommon ecosystem type, and /or
• Supports a threatened or at-risk species (as per the DOC classification system), and /or
• Supports taonga sites or species.

2. Growing the Biodiversity Communities in Hawke’s Bay:

• Creating opportunities for meaningful engagement or environmental education that motivates a community on an ongoing basis, and /or
• Working in partnership with local mana whenua recognising their role as kaitiaki of indigenous biodiversity and building knowledge of mātauranga Māori and/or
• Supports and promotes social connectivity and partnerships of environmental projects, and/or
• Provides opportunities for extending knowledge of biodiversity values or management techniques.

How to apply and eligibility criteria

Environmental Enhancement Contestable Fund Application Form - Word

Environmental Enhancement Contestable Fund Application Form - PDF

Terms and Conditions

Environmental Enhancement Contestable Fund - Terms and Conditions