Scholarships to encourage Māori into forestry sector

Uru Rakau Karahipi recipient 2019

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hopes new forestry scholarships will encourage more women and Māori to enter higher education within the forestry sector.

Ms Ardern and Forestry Minister Shane Jones presented the first eight Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau scholarships at a ceremony at Canterbury Univerity this morning.

They are available to Māori and/or female students enrolling in a Bachelor of Forestry Science or Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Forest Engineering.

The 2019 recipients are: Robyn Patient from Waikuku Beach; Jessica Stock from Tasman; Cole Grace from Gisborne; George Fanning-Ihaka from Dargaville; Nicholas Melvin from Winton, Thomas Brown from Matamata; Max Gomez from Dunedin and Hannah Humphreys from Wanaka.

Ms Ardern says over the last five years less than a third of graduates of forestry degrees were women, and while the industry is a significant employer of Māori, Māori are underrepresented in the professional and scientific areas of the industry.

Mr Jones the One Billion Trees Programme is about planting the right tree, in the right place, for the right purpose, and for this the right people are needed.

Changes in science and technology is creating a need for people who can work with robotics, help develop new forestry products and processes, and take them to the market.

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Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com

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