
Countdown Growing for Good Grants
Growing for Good was launched in 2018, and is designed to help foster Aotearoa’s next generation of budding environmentalists, gardeners and conservationists. So far we’ve funded $50,000 of cool little projects right across the country in schools and early childhood centres!
These include installing beehives and chicken coops, building and improving fruit and vege gardens, investigating maramataka, growing Māori medicinal plants, and reducing food waste.
We’re excited to be running this grants programme again in 2021.
Applications open: Monday, 1 February 2021
Applications close: Sunday, 21 March 2021
Funding available: start of Term 2 2021
The application form and guidelines will be available here in February.
Any questions, please email growingforgood@countdown.co.nz
Round 2 Winners (in alphabetical order):
Best Start North Road (Invercargill)
- Install a vegetable garden for the school and local community
Best Start Tawa (Wellington)
- Plant a vegetable garden from unused space to help feed the children for lunch.
First Years Learning Centre (Whanganui)
- Build a community garden and orchard to support the school menu and provide help feed food for local families.
Greenwood Kindergarten (Tasman)
- Introduce an automated watering system for their garden
Hastings Intermediate (Hastings)
- Learn about the tikanga of harakeke and the rongoā of Māori medicinal plants through the planting and harvesting of these
Hatea-a-Rangi School (Tokomaru Bay)
- Build a chicken coop to house six chickens
Hikuai School (Coromandel)
- Create a bee-friendly garden in preparation for beehives
Huia Range School (Manawatu)
- Build a greenhouse to assist students gardening club and creating a compost
Kokatahi - Kowhitirangi (Hokitika)
- Plant an orchard to help with school lunches
John Street Kindergarten (Waimate)
- Install a worm farm and add to their current vegetable garden
Makara Model School (Wellington)
- Build a chicken coop
Mangere Central School (Auckland)
- Build a chicken coop
Manurewa Playcentre (Auckland)
- Plant a vegetable garden
Marewa Primary School (Hawkes Bay)
- Protect and grow the vegetable gardens and orchard as well as building a community pantry
Opawa School (Christchurch)
- Grow a fruit orchard
Otane School (Hawkes Bay)
- Grow a fruit orchard
Pauatahanui School (Porirua)
- Grow a food forest
Portobello Kindergarten (Dunedin)
- Plant a vegetable garden and wildlife friendly planting
Puaka Bush School (Whakatane)
- Making a recycled greenhouse to develop the local native bush
Pukerua Bay School (Wellington)
- Revitalisation of our native skink garden and restoration of our planting tables and storage benches in the community shade house
Pukete School (Hamilton)
- Create water butt to collect rainwater for vegetable garden
Rapaura School (Marlborough)
- Supporting their native tree planting with mulch
Rosebank School (Auckland)
- Native planting to increase local wildlife
Roslyn Maori Hill Playcentre (Dunedin)
- Build a greenhouse to provide produce all year round
Rotokawa Primary (Rotorua)
- Build a bee and insect friendly garden
St Patrick’s Te Awamutu (Te Awamutu)
- Joining the Trees for Survival national programme
Tangowahine School (Dargaville)
- Continue to enhance their native planting
Te Pā Harakeke o Te Awahou Inc (Manawatu)
- Create a sensory garden
Te Pukeiti Early Childhood Centre (Te Kuiti)
- Build a chicken coop
The CubbyHouse Napier Road (Palmerston North)
- Build a chicken coop to help reduce food waste
Tiddlywinks Preschool Ltd (Ashburton)
- Install a beehive
Timaru South School (Timaru)
- Grow fruits to feed the school’s breakfast club four days a week
Victory Primary School (Nelson)
- Set up a compost system for the school
West Rolleston Primary School (Christchurch)
- Extend the vegetable garden and create a native tree area