Funding To Outdoor Recreation Sector

Outdoor recreation organisations will get more than $2.4 million over three years including for training volunteers under SPARC’s new contestable approach.

SPARC chief executive Peter Miskimmin said today the SPARC Board had recently approved applications for funding from nine organisations. The successful applicants were:

• Outdoors New Zealand: $975,000 over three years
• NZ Outdoor Instructors Association: $422,750 over three years
• Education Outdoors NZ & Mountain Safety Council: $250,000 over two years
• Alpine Club: $149,000 over three years
• Scouts Association of New Zealand: $240,000 over three years
• Guides: $210,000 over three years
• Boys Brigade and Girls Brigade: $150,000 over three years

The organisations will use the money including for sector leadership, safety auditing, training teachers working in outdoor education, and training volunteers working with young people.

Outdoors New Zealand (ONZ) and the New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association (NZOIA) received a significant increase on previous investment because these are key organisations leading collaboration in the sector and can deliver results sought by SPARC’s outdoor recreation strategy. ONZ previously received $130,000 annual investment from SPARC while NZOIA received $55,000 a year.

In the past, SPARC invested about $700,000 a year in 13 organisations involved in the outdoor recreation sector but this year a contestable fund of $1.2 million a year was made available.

Mr Miskimmin said the SPARC Board was considering several other applications for funding and would announce its decisions on these after its November meeting.

The move to a contestable fund was made following recommendations by the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Recreation Council, a group of sector experts which advises SPARC.