The trust announced grants of $555,653 for its July finding round in a statement this week.
The ambitious riverside park aimed to rejuvenate the downtown CBD by creating a vibrant public space at the confluence of the Mata-au/Clutha and Manuherikia Rivers.
The park would serve as a multi-purpose community hub, offering improved access and connectivity for pedestrians, cyclists and trail users, while also providing a family-friendly recreational area.
"A riverside public space and hub has been a long time in the planning, and support from funders such as OCT [Otago Community Trust] mean we can finally get cracking and create it", Alexandra Riverside Park trust chairman Rory McLellan said.
Save the Otago Peninsula (Stop), a community-based environmental group, was continuing their ambitious native plant revegetation project on the Otago Peninsula. With an injection of $20,000 from Otago Community Trust, the project aimed to enhance biodiversity, improve water quality and mitigate climate change through landscape-scale conservation efforts.
Stop planned to plant at least 1000 more eco-sourced native trees in the Smiths Creek Catchment on the Hereweka / Harbour Cone Block, an area rich in native aquatic life.
This initiative would also extend the popular Future Forest Walk Loop, providing additional recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike.
Ōwaka Going Forward was spearheading an ambitious project to construct a cycling and walking trail between Ōwaka and Pounawea, the statement said.
This initiative aimed to create a safe, off-road path connecting these two isolated communities.
The trail, which received $30,000 towards its construction from Otago Community Trust, would run from the Hinahina Bridge to the Pounawea Doc reserve. It would not only provide a much-needed recreational facility for locals and visitors, but also serve to reduce isolation and foster community engagement.
Other grants included the Waitaki Valley Community Society, which received $3175 for their Kurow Wetland Restoration Plan, $8000 to the Cromwell & Districts Community Trust for a partial recreation of the Chinese mining settlement that existed in Cromwell and $4000 for Southern Heritage Trust, for the Ōtepoti Heritage Festival 2024.
July grants
— Central Otago District Arts Trust $5000
— Alexandra Miners Village & Riverside Park Trust $100,000
— Alexandra Primary School Charitable Trust (COEC Ltd) $6000
— Cromwell Chamber Music at the World’s Edge Foundation $5000
— Cromwell & Districts Community Trust $8000
— Sathi Association $1000
— Otago Society for Music Education, operating as Music Education Otago $900
— The Rothesay News Inc $5000
— Roslyn Wakari Association Football Club Inc $2000
— Strath Taieri Agriculture & Rural Tourism Trust $5000
— Alhambra-Union Rugby Football Club Inc $15,000
— Caversham Harrier & Athletic Club Inc $16,000
— Otago Rugby Football Union Inc $4000
— Strath Taieri Historical Society Inc $3578
— Citizens Advice Bureau — Dunedin $10,000
— Southern Heritage Trust $4000
— Your Food Network Dunedin (OFN) Incorporated Society $6000
— Dunedin Group Riding for the Disabled Assn Inc $20,000
— Dunedin Jazz Foundation $17,000
— Dunedin Marine Search & Rescue Inc $5000
— Otago Polytechnic — Pacific Island Scholarships $10,000
— Save the Otago Peninsula (Stop) Society Inc $20,000
— Fairfield School $20,000
— Mornington Kindergarten $3500
— Big Steps Educare Inc $1200
— Elmgrove School $15,000
— Ready & Steady Seniors, Mosgiel $1000
— Waitaki Community Recreation Centre Trust $80,000
— Ardleigh Golf Club Inc $8000
— Maheno Bowling Club Inc $1600
— Awamoa Bowling Club Inc $3000
— Te Waipounamu Riders Against
— Domestic Abuse Trust $5000
— Age Concern Otago Inc $5000
— Volunteer South/Kaituao o te Taitonga $2900
— Disability Information Service Inc T/A Livingwell Disability Resource Centre $5000
— Tangata Whenua Community and Voluntary Sector Research Centre Inc $8000
— Enabling Love New Zealand $3500
— Middlemarch Golf Club Inc $10,000
— Waitaki Valley Community Society Inc $3175
— The CanInspire Charitable Trust $3000
— Holocaust Centre of New Zealand Inc $500
— Ōwaka Going Forward $30,000
— Wānaka Arts Society $3000
— WAI Wānaka $15,000
— Winter Games NZ Charitable Trust $10,000
— Snow Sports NZ Inc $5000
— Wānaka Yacht Club Inc $3500
— Wānaka Backyard Trapping Inc $4300
— Wānaka Backyard Trapping Inc $7000
— Hāwea Playgroup Incorporated $5000
— One New Zealand $25,000
