The Natural Heritage Fund (NHF) is part of the Natural Heritage Partnership Programme (NHPP). The objectives of the Natural Heritage Partnership Programme are:
- Increasing positive biodiversity outcomes across the region.
- Supporting the community to develop and lead their own biodiversity projects.
- Inspiring and educating people in the region to either be involved or supportive of biodiversity work and to understand and place value on it.
Open/close dates
Fund opens 7 April 2025
Fund closes: 5 May 2025
This fund is currently closed, however the form is available for preview.
If you are considering applying, we encourage you to contact the fund manager, Andrew Thomas on (0800) 800 401 or nhf@waikatoregion.govt.nz to discuss your project.
For information about the Natural Heritage Partnership Programme (NHPP), subscribe to the Biodiversity Partnerships bi-annual newsletter.
What types of projects may be funded?
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The Natural Heritage Fund is designed to support community led, collaborative projects that have long term, landscape scale, intergenerational ecological benefits, including assisting in securing public assets and public access.
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For the period 2024-2027, priority will be given to projects that achieve landscape scale outcomes or link multiple smaller biodiversity projects to achieve landscape scale biodiversity outcomes. Please note, that land purchase is not currently a priority.
How much is available?
Approximately $1,400,000.
How much can you apply for?
Applicants must be requesting a minimum of $40,000 and the funding term can be for up to a maximum of four years. We encourage applications to be no more than $300,000 in total (over the whole funding term). If the total amount of funding you are requesting is more than $300,000, we encourage you to discuss your project with us.
If an applicant requests less than one third of the total funding available for an NHF round, decisions will be made by the Integrated Catchment Management Committee.
If an applicant requests more than one third of the total funding available for an NHF round, a recommendation will be made by the Integrated Catchment Management Committee to the next full Council meeting.
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