Rod Donald trust to tackle 'bold' projects

GREEN LEGACY: The Christchurch City Council has voted to establish the Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust after the former Green MP.

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Former Green Party co-leader Rod Donald is to be remembered with a new $3.4 million trust named in his memory.

The Christchurch City Council has voted to establish the Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust, nearly three years after it was first proposed.

It will start with $3.4m, acquired from the sale of endowment properties owned by the former Banks Peninsula District Council, and hopes to attract public donations.

It will look for "bold" projects focused on "the maintenance and development" of the environment, heritage sites and community projects on Banks Peninsula.

The seven interim trustees include former Christchurch mayor Garry Moore, Banks Peninsula councillor Claudia Reid, and Nicola Shirlaw, Donald's partner at the time of his death.

Shirlaw said she was happy with the "lovely" recognition of Donald's environmental work and his affinity with Banks Peninsula.

"He had a really strong connection to the area. He had friends there, and we'd holiday in the area – he loved it."

She hoped the trust would support a variety of projects in the area she described as "Christchurch's playground".

Reid said the trustees would be "thinking bold" and supporting projects that made a substantial difference.

"I'd be disappointed if we were regarded as just another funding pot – we want to be a credible body that does make a difference."

She said the trust would consult with environmental groups that were already "doing great work" in the area.

A predator fence and environmental studies centre were among ideas that had been floated, though no decisions had been made.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said the trust was "very exciting" for the region. "It provides another funding source for projects that ... protect the beautiful things that make up Banks Peninsula."

Naming the trust after Donald was an appropriate way to recognise his environmental work, Parker said.

Reid said the trustees would hold their first meeting next week.

- © Fairfax NZ News