Recreation Aotearoa Opens $1.5M Outdoor Education Support Fund

Recreation Aotearoa have opened applications to the new Outdoor Education Support Fund. Managed and delivered on behalf of Sport NZ, the $1.5M fund is aimed at outdoor education organsations experiencing short-term financial hardship due to the impacts of COVID-19.

The fund has been made available through the Sport Recovery Package that was announced in 2020.

Recreation Aotearoa CEO, Andrew Leslie, has paid tribute to the outdoor education sector and their role in activating young New Zealanders.

“New Zealand is very lucky to be endowed with a range of excellent outdoor education providers, many of them household names,” Leslie said.

“Year after year, for generations, they have provided life-changing experiences and personal development to rangatahi and tamariki. Typically, on a non-profit basis,” he said.

“The recent lockdowns have hit these organisations particularly hard, just as they are starting to emerge from the challenges of 2020. Frankly, many of them are facing insolvency and that would have a devastating impact on the long-term wellbeing of many New Zealanders,” he said.

The support fund is available to help outdoor education organisations cover fixed operating costs or their loss of revenue in the August/September lockdown period.

“We are encouraging all eligible outdoor education providers with a focus on delivering programmes for tamariki and rangatahi, to apply,” Leslie said.

Applications are open until 5pm, Friday 29 October and can be made through the Recreation Aotearoa website

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