Tourism industry's $100k for environmental projects
An initiative aimed at enabling the tourism industry to make a positive contribution to the local environment has $100,000 to dish out.
Love Queenstown and Love Wānaka were the first organisations to come to life from the region’s Destination Management Plan: Travel to a Thriving Future, which also set the Carbon Zero 2030 target.
They collect contributions and volunteer hours from visitors, tourism operators, and local businesses, with the funds allocated to organisations via contestable grants.
Since 2023, the organisations have brought industry volunteers together to plant 6,500 native trees, invested over $32,500 in endowment funds, connected numerous visitors to volunteer opportunities, and promoted sustainable travel information.
This year, they've raised a record $100,000 across the Queenstown Lakes region. These funds will directly support charitable organisations delivering frontline climate, conservation, and biodiversity projects in the region.
Eligible organisations can now apply for grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. Applications for the 2025 Impact Grants are open from 8 July – 6 August.
"These grants are about empowering the incredible organisations already working so hard to protect our rohe (region),” Ash Bickley, Community Fund Coordinator, says.
“The ongoing support from the visitor industry has been inspiring, showing a real commitment to not just sustaining, but regenerating, the places we love.”
Past recipients include the Whakatipu Reforestation Trust, Whakatipu Wildlife Trust, Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Skies Group, Te Kākano Aotearoa, Predator Free Wānaka (formerly Wānaka Backyard Trapping), WAI Wānaka, and the Upper Clutha Wilding Tree Group.
"This is about building a regenerative future for our region,” Mat Woods, CEO of Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, says.
“These funds are a direct result of visitor and business generosity and are a unique example of how tourism can support real, on-the-ground environmental action.”
Sararose Brown, Operations Manager for the Whakatipu Reforestation Trust, says the collaborations are vital to their work.
"It allows us to bring local businesses and community members along with us, working toward a shared vision of making this place even better," she says.
The grants are delivered in partnership with Destination Queenstown, Lake Wānaka Tourism and the 45South Community Foundation (formerly Wakatipu Community Foundation).
More information, including full eligibility criteria and application details, is available at: www.loveqt.co.nz and www.lovewanaka.co.nz.
