Green Training Fund 2024

Banyule City Council’s Green Training Fund is available for Banyule’s environmental and community volunteers, teachers, and First Nations community members to access capacity building training, conferences, and short courses.

Council will fund up to 80% of the training cost, the maximum grant available is $1500.

The grants are intended to support the environmental aims detailed in our Council Plan.

Successful projects must align with Council's priority theme: Our Sustainable Environment.

The strategies that support this priority theme aim to:

• Protect and enhance our natural environment, providing connected habitat for diverse flora and fauna.
• Minimise stormwater pollution and the impacts of flooding, and maximise Council’s water conservation to transition to a water sensitive City.
• Demonstrate leadership in addressing climate change and take action to become a carbon neutral Council by 2028 and City by 2040.
• Empower and educate the community and businesses to take actions to achieve positive environmental and climate change outcomes.
• Avoid waste generation and encourage and support the community to achieve zero waste to landfill by 2030. 6. Engage and work with the community and partners to protect, enhance and experience the environment.
• Protect, increase and maintain Banyule’s urban forest population to provide a greener City for enhanced liveability.
• Explore and support opportunities for urban farming and community gardens.

The training should support the group in reaching their environmental and community objectives, in accordance with the strategic priorities outlined in Our Sustainable Environment. It is not mandatory for the training to have a direct alignment with environmental themes.

The training may involve broader skill sets and capacities that contribute to overall environmental and community outcomes such as digital marketing, facilitation, leadership, volunteer management, governance etc.

To be eligible for a Banyule Green Training Fund Grant, applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Work, live or provide significant evidence of engagement in the Banyule community.
• Applicants should be able to demonstrate their interest and involvement in environmental issues and how the training will benefit their community.
• Applicants should be connected to local community environment groups, not- for-profits implementing environmental projects/ initiatives or education institutions.
• Applicants must meet any eligibility requirements for the course or conference they are seeking to attend.
• Applicants must have acquitted previous Council grants and have no outstanding debts to Banyule Council.

General Conditions:

• Funding will be administrated via payment of 80 per cent of course/conference fees, up to $1,500 (GST exclusive) per successful application. Course fees for courses delivered by a Registered Training Organisation or Learn Local, short courses delivered by reputable organisations or conference registrations are eligible for funding.
• Courses and conferences must align with the Banyule Council Plan Strategic Priority Our Sustainable Environment.
• Individual applicants can only receive one Green Training Fund Grant in 2023/ 2024 financial year.
• Applicants must have complied with acquittal conditions for any previous Council funding
• Applicants who receive a Banyule Green Training Fund grant and do not attend their training or conference must return the grant amount in full.