The $953,000 grant to the Lake Dunstan Charitable Trust (formerly Guardians of Lake Dunstan) was made by Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor this week.
He also pledged up to $321,000 over four years to the Aspiring Diversity Trust.
Mr O’Connor said the funding was targeted at restoring Central Otago’s waterways while at the same time delivering jobs to regions hard hit by the economic impact of Covid-19.
Both projects came under under the umbrella of the Jobs for Nature funding programme and would deliver more than 23 jobs over the next four years, while contributing to the restoration of the region’s waterways.
Mr O’Connor said the funding to the Lake Dunstan Charitable Trust would provide "huge support to the work and significant investment Linz makes annually to control lake weed and maintain the Lake Dunstan shoreline and surrounds".
The funding to the Aspiring Biodiversity Trust was to carry out monitoring, pest and weed management, and restoration on the Wilkins and Makarora Rivers, which flow into Lake Wanaka.
It would deliver 13 part-time roles and included education and community outreach to support ongoing protection of biodiversity in the waterways feeding into the lake, Mr O’Connor said.
"By helping to restore the tributaries leading into Lake Wanaka we also support our work in the lake controlling the invasive water weed, lagarosiphon and the effort the community is making to help manage this pest plant."
