The contestable $600,000‑a‑year fund has been among the largest per‑capita community climate funds in the country. Since it launched in 2024, $1.2 million has been paid to 45 projects, while about $6 million has been requested for 171 projects. 

Northland Regional Council chair 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 a strong emphasis on everyday 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 per cent 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.

He said success was not measured solely by infrastructure delivered, but by improvements in community capability, confidence and readiness.

“Training, upskilling and leadership development – particularly within local organisations, hapū and community groups – are enabling communities to lead their own resilience responses rather than relying on external intervention.”

Tipene said the fund strongly supported Northland Civil Defence readiness, with projects improving continuity of power, water availability and community facilities’ ability to operate as resilience hubs during disruptions.

In 2025, marae‑based solar 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 $7,000 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.

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.

Projects can receive between $5,000 and $40,000 each. In 2025, the Kaitāia-based Community Business Environment Centre’s Hokinganui a Kai project and Te Paatu ki Kauhanga Trust Board’s Kāmehameha project in the Oruru‑Peria area near Taipa each received the maximum $40,000, alongside a region‑wide Rural Support Trust Northland climate resilience initiative.

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.