Congratulations to the following organisations who were successful in receiving funding from the 2026 round of the School Sustainability and Resilience Fund (SSRF):

• Aquinas College – Environment Committee Initiatives
• Arataki Free Kindergarten – Supporting Sustainable Transport and Safe Riding at Arataki Kindergarten
• Elm Tree Early Learning Centre – Sustainable Gardening and Worm Farm
• Garden of Life Limited – Rainwater Collection System for Climate Awareness and Sustainability
• Kidiwise Preschool and Childcare – Creating an Orchard for Our Tamariki and Community to Enjoy Fresh Fruit
• Maketu Kidettes Early Childhood Centre – Growing Kaitiaki - Water, Waste and Environmental Learning for Tamariki
• Maungatapu Free Kindergarten – Te Māra o te Rangimārie
• Ōpōtiki College – Doing Things Differently
• Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School – Plot to Plate
• Ōtūmoetai Playcentre – Claret Ash Canopy for Climate Resilience
• Pahoia School – Native Bush Rejuvenation
• Pāpāmoa College – Wetlands Project
• Pongakawa School – Storage Solution for Garden Tools and Chicken Coop Upgrade
• Rangiuru School – Stabilising Our School Bush for a Changing Climate
• STEAM-ED Charitable Trust – Bio Builders: Forest and Fungi Edition
• St Marys School, Tauranga – St Mary's School Secret Garden Project
• St Thomas More Catholic School – Manaaki Kai – “Caring Through Food”
• Tarawera High School – Greenhouse Seedling Project
• Tauranga Boys College – Rainwater Collection System
• Tauranga Girls College – Hydrohub-Edible Garden
• Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School – Shaded Beginnings: Supporting Native Seed Growth
• Te Kura o Te Pāroa – Tiaki i a Papatūānuku, Kura Taiao, Te Kura o Te Pāroa
• Te Kura o Te Whānau a Apanui – Raukūmara ki Uta, Raukūmara ki Tai. Taiao Zone. Whenua Restoration Project
• Te Puna School – The Edible Education Garden
• Te Ranga School – Environmental Education
• The Ole Schoolhouse Early Learning Centre – Te Māra Hapori o Te Kura Tawhito
• The Village Preschool – Chicken Run
• Western Heights Primary School – Restoration and Improvement of Our Kura Māra Kai

This year we received over 30 applications, representing a combined project value of approximately $134,000.

Funding was allocated using participatory budgeting, with 70% decided by public vote and 30% by a Youth Panel of 16 rangatahi from across the Bay of Plenty.

In total, just over $103,000 has been awarded to 28 successful projects listed above.

Thank you to our funding partners

We’d also like to extend our sincere thanks to our funding partners - Tauranga City Council, Rotorua Trust, Trust Horizon and BayTrust. Without their generous support of the School Sustainability and Resilience Fund, the Regional Council would not have been able to fund so many deserving projects.