Financial support is now available to property owners wanting to protect and improve indigenous plant and animal habitats on their land.

Last year, council put aside $450,000 over three years to help landowners with activities ranging from weed and pest control through to extensive regeneration of indigenous vegetation. The grants scheme was designed in collaboration with a range of Lower Hutt landowners.

Applications for this second round of grants are now open.

Two types of grants are available. Tier one grants of up to $1000 in value will provide materials, equipment or services for projects such as weed and pest control.

Tier two grants of up to $20,000 are for larger scale, higher impact projects, and applications will need to have an accompanying management plan. Management plans are documents that outline the vision for the land, the project’s objectives and how these objectives will be achieved.

Applications for this funding round close on 11 June 2021.

Council Ecology and Horticulture Advisor Jonathan Frericks says a number of Lower Hutt people are already doing remarkable and important work to establish and preserve indigenous habitats on their land.

"So it’s Council’s aim to support these people in this work and encourage and assist other landowners to take care of our native bush."

Before European settlement, most of Lower Hutt was covered with thick forest and areas of wetland. Despite decades of development, Lower Hutt still contains numerous natural areas providing habitats for indigenous plant and animal species, and many areas are now recovering to native bush.

Some of these sites are home to rare or threatened species or habitats. Native bush and scrub also have important functions such as water cleansing, erosion and flood reduction and sequestering carbon, an important part of reducing the country’s net carbon emissions.

For more information, go to: https://bit.ly/3aPKRfP

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