More Community Fund dollars to be distributed

More Community Fund dollars to be distributed

After more than a thousand hours of volunteer work and significant funding from the CCPF Community Fund through Trail Fund NZ, the Old Ghost Road is quickly becoming an iconic New Zealand ride.

With some of the $1.2m left in from DOC Community Fund to contribute to track, trail and hut maintenance, the Outdoor Recreation Consortium is looking for applications from your club or group now! Trail Fund NZ is currently accepting applications for up to $5,000 so apply now!

The three organisations that make up the Outdoor Recreation Consortium – Federated Mountain Clubs, Trail Fund NZ and the Deerstalkers Association – share a common goal to make the New Zealand backcountry more accessible for each group’s passion, and they’ve made massive strides so far!

With more than 126 projects completed or underway and almost $1m allocated, the Department of Conservation is pleased to see so many projects getting off the ground.

“We’re thrilled to see how well the Consortium continues to work with user groups around the country, and the effort they’ve put into funding quality proposals,” said FMC president Peter Wilson.

“The aim of the fund is to maintain and enhance our backcountry facilities, rather than building lots of new tracks. It’s exciting to see New Zealanders engaging in this new mechanism and how it’s enabling people to get out there and look after the places they care so much about. It’s more than we could do on our own.”

This funding is made possible by a grant from the Department of Conservation’s Community Fund, which is managed by the NZ Outdoor Recreation Consortium.

“These grants are geared towards giving backcountry users greater ownership of the facilities they care passionately about and it’s great to have so many applicants keen to take advantage of the opportunity,” Trail Fund NZ chairperson Ben Wilde.

Applications close on 31 August so get started on yours now!

Visit http://hutsandtracks.org.nz/ for application forms and guidelines. There are separate funds for trampers/ hunters, mountain bikers and other backcountry users such as horse-riders and canyoners.