FURTHER REPORT - CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE GRANTS (ROUND 6) (referred from General Committee dated 9 June 2026 Item 7.14) · Attachment 1 - Climate Change Grants 2026

                 Attachment 1: Climate Change Response Grants Recommended Projects FY26-27
                                                                                             Amount
  Applicant         Project        Project Overview                                                      Total Cost                           Alignment Summary
                                                                                            Requested
                                                                                                                      • The application was scored highly by the evaluation panel.
                                This project will update the Noosa Native Plants website                              • The project addresses increasing risks of climate change impacts on
                                to include climate-resilience information, helping                                    biodiversity and urban green infrastructure, as well as helps to improve
                                residents choose native species suited to future                                      household resilience due to the addition of climate-resilient gardens which
Urban Wildlife                  conditions and support urban greening. Working with                                   provide heat, health and flood risk reduction benefits. The project is thus
 Gardens (a                     Council and NRM partners, the project will assess around                              important to help the Noosa community with climate adaptation and
 program by      Get climate- 350 priority species using established climate-adaptation                               resilience.
    Noosa      ready with Noosa tools, update taxonomy and cultivation information,         $11,150.00   $19,680.00   • The project is proposed by a credible, well-governed community group
  Integrated     Native Plants develop ecosystem-specific garden templates, and                                       with a demonstrated track record of delivering credible, evidence-based
 Catchment                      deliver workshops and outreach to encourage uptake.                                   information and education to community.
 Association)                   The result will give the community clear, accessible                                  • The project includes community workshops demonstrating broader reach.
                                guidance to create biodiverse, water-efficient,                                       • Recommended condition of funding to improve monitoring and
                                climate-resilient gardens that support local wildlife and                             evaluation, and to demonstrate stronger partnerships with consideration for
                                neighbourhood cooling.                                                                Kabi Kabi Land & Sea Rangers.

                                                                                                                      • Demonstrated strong benefit to those least able to participate in the
                                                                                                                      energy transition, and those who are under the most pressure from the
                                                                                                                      cost-of-living crisis.
                             This project will install solar on 10 low-income Noosa
                                                                                                                      • Energy equity is a critical component of Noosa’s climate response
                             homes, building on Council’s 2024–25 pilot that delivered
                                                                                                                      priorities and should be prioritised so the most vulnerable in the community
                             systems to 10 households. ZEN Inc will replicate a
                                                                                                                      are not left behind.
                             proven crowdfunding model to raise $25,000 from the
                                                                                                                      • Solar is one step towards being more climate ready, as long as the
                             community, with the grant contributing the remaining
                                                                                                                      inverters supplied are battery ready.
Zero Emissions Solar on Low- $10,000 of the $35,000 project cost. Donations will be
                                                                                            $10,000.00   $45,000.00   • This project builds on a successful trial and illustrates very strong co-
  Noosa Inc    Income Homes sought from supporters and the wider community and
                                                                                                                      contribution, with the total project value 4.5 times the grant funding
                             promoted (with permission) through media to boost
                                                                                                                      request. The use of crowd and donor sources of funding contributes to the
                             participation, supported by ZEN’s DGR status. The
                                                                                                                      objective of ZEN Inc. to build financial sustainability with reduced council
                             project provides an affordable, community-backed
                                                                                                                      support over time.
                             pathway to expand solar access for vulnerable
                                                                                                                      • Recommended condition of funding that all solar systems are battery-
                             households.
                                                                                                                      ready for future opportunities to build resilience to critical infrastructure
                                                                                                                      disruption.