The Trust congratulates the NEXT Foundation on the success of its first Expression of Interest process. The NEXT Foundation is a new organisation offering philanthropic support for projects in the environment and education space, and reports that it has received 280 expressions of interest for its first funding round. NEXT chairman Chris Liddell says, “We are humbled by the number and quality of submissions we have received. They represent a magnificent diversity of ideas and are a tribute to the creativity of New Zealanders”.
The Trust is one of these applicants, seeking support from the NEXT Foundation for our flagship Spine of the Lizard project. This project aims to facilitate Christchurch people, especially families, young people and schools, to explore and better understand the wonderful environment of nearby Banks Peninsula on a three day, two night tramp. “We are very impressed by the NEXT process,” says Trust chair Garry Moore, “the deceptively simple 2 page expression of interest form certainly made us do some hard thinking and work, provided a focus for the project and helped push the whole team forward. While we sincerely hope to be one of the successful applicants, we are already most appreciative of the value we have gained from our involvement with NEXT. Its staggering to think of the creative energy wave NEXT has sent right through the Environment and Education sectors and we wish all the projects well.”
The Trust has also leant its support to the concept of a GeoPark for Banks Peninsula as applied for by a new community group.