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A grant of more than $12,000 from the NZ Community Trust is helping The Coastal Trail finish its new track between Point Wells and Matakana Country Park.
The trail’s fundraising and community manager, Megan Eriksen, said the $12,155 funding top-up from the national gaming trust was the latest grant to help get the $1.4 million 1.8km-trail over the line, with construction work due to finish soon.
“This generous grant from NZCT helped us finish what our community started and deliver the safe, professional trail people have worked so hard for,” she said.
“While escalating costs and site-specific complexities added pressure, NZCT’s grant has helped ensure the trail is completed to a high standard. With the path nearly finished, a shared community vision is becoming a lasting local asset.”
Eriksen said the focus would now shift to the next stage of the trail, connecting Matakana to Sharp Road (MM, Jul 21).
“Planning and environmental assessments are already underway, but this next leg comes with significant infrastructure challenges – including a bridge crossing – and a funding target of approximately $2.5 million,” she said.
The Coastal Trail Trust has put together a strategy to raise the money that includes seeking further grants, private donations, business sponsorships and community-led events. The trail will also be one of the local beneficiaries of Z Energy’s next Good in the Hood token scheme, which launches at its Hudson Road, Warkworth petrol station on August 26.
“Customers receive an orange token with each purchase, which they use to vote for a local group,” Eriksen said. “$5000 is shared between the groups based on those tokens – so every vote counts.”
She said the trail needed support from all corners, and urged individuals, businesses and organisations to get in touch if they could help.
