Students learn about planting to suit local climate zones at a Matapouri workshop as part of the Syntropic Agroforestry Research and Training permadynamics project, which operates across Whangārei district. Photo / Frida Keegan / Permadynamics
Students learn about planting to suit local climate zones at a Matapouri workshop as part of the Syntropic Agroforestry Research and Training permadynamics project, which operates across Whangārei district. Photo / Frida Keegan / Permadynamics
A Northland Regional Council community climate resilience fund is in strong demand, with about five times more money sought than available.
The ratepayer-funded $600,000‑a‑year, contestable fund is among the largest per‑capita community climate funds in the country. Since its 2024 launch, $1.2 million has been paid to 45 projects, whileabout $6m has been requested for 171 projects.
Northland Regional Council chairman Pita Tipene said the fund’s core goal was to build resilience to climate change through community‑led action and by strengthening local capacity.
“The fund has prioritised vulnerable communities, directing investment to places facing the highest climate risks and historically lower adaptive capacity,” Tipene said.
“This supports a fair and inclusive transition to resilience, ensuring communities most exposed to climate impacts are better supported.”
Funded projects focus on practical measures to strengthen resilience to climate and environmental pressures across Northland, with an emphasis on essentials such as water, energy and food security.
“Collectively these investments reduce exposure to climate risk while improving local preparedness and self‑sufficiency,” Tipene said.
“Recent severe weather events have reinforced both the need for this investment and the role communities can play in supporting impacted whānau when disruption occurs.”
He said the fund was helping Te Tai Tokerau communities better prepare for an increasingly volatile future.
“We’re already seeing how severe weather events can threaten lives, damage homes and infrastructure, leave communities cut off, and compromise access to food, water and energy supplies.”
Applications for the 2026 funding round close on April 27, but the funding pool has been reduced by 20% to $480,000, pending adoption of the council’s 2026‑27 Annual Plan. Tipene said the reduction was part of efforts to achieve a nil council rates increase for the coming year.
NRC chairman Pita Tipene says community-based climate resilience efforts are a crucial part of Northland being prepared for the future. Photo / Denise Piper
Tipene said the fund strongly supported Northland Civil Defence readiness, with projects improving power continuity, water availability and community facilities’ ability to operate as resilience hubs during disruptions.
In 2025, marae‑based solar power systems were among 22 funded projects, including at Ngāi Tūpoto Trustees Marae at Motukaraka Point in north Hokianga ($35,000) and Puketawa Marae in the Utakura Valley between Hōreke and Ōkaihau ($26,000).
Water security upgrades were funded. Morehu Marae in Pawarenga received about $7000 to replace its water tank. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hine Trust was granted $40,000 for its Tanks a Lot project, installing water storage across vulnerable Ngāti Hine communities in the Kawakawa–Moerewa and inland Bay of Islands area.
Food security initiatives were another major focus. The Hokianga Community Educational Trust received $36,786 for He Kete Kai o Hokianga – Future Proofing our Hokianga Food Systems, aimed at strengthening local food resilience.
Bream Bay Coastal Care Trust's Luke Jacobs (left) and Te Pou Taiao o Patuharakeke's Elliot Brown learn about selective weed spraying for dune health at Uretiti near Whangārei, as part of Bream Bay Coastal Restoration Project's $23,000 NRC community climate resilience fund 2025 grant. Photo / NRC, Mike Urlich, ReNative
Climate Change Taitokerau Northland Trust was granted $20,000 to develop a region‑wide kai sovereignty strategy, designed to reduce reliance on external supply chains and improve long‑term food self‑sufficiency.
Nature‑based resilience projects were also supported. These included the Bream Bay Coastal Care Trust’s coastal restoration project ($23,000) along an erosion‑prone shoreline, and Maungarongo Whenua Trust’s Taiao Kaitiaki Oranga ō te Waima project ($30,000), focused on environmental guardianship in the Waima River catchment.
Tipene said the council was confident the fund was delivering strong value for ratepayers.
“These projects are building skills, knowledge and confidence, enabling communities to understand their own risks and develop locally appropriate solutions, while strengthening baseline water, food and energy security, particularly in highly exposed rural areas.”
Each funded project is required to provide progress reporting before further funding instalments are released.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
