Women in science - Don Linklater memorial bursary opens

Celebrating women in science, from left: Ella Whale, Fiona Gordon and Julia Jung.

I can still recall trying to explain to my grandmother what exactly I was studying at university.

The expectations and opportunities of the world she grew up in were so different to mine - her female friends and family members included farmers, teachers and nurses.

These were careers she could easily identify with.

But my desire to learn led me in another direction, into the world of physical geography, environmental planning, environmental science, even industrial and organic chemistry.

Decades later and I am now the one trying to get my head around the vast choice of study topics my children have available to them.

Just last week at a Horizons Regional Council meeting, I felt I could have been sitting in a university lecture again, and I loved it.

As river management analysts, Ella Whale and Julia Jung, presented their research into sediment and gravel deposits in our rivers and floodways.

I soaked up all their graphs, maps and calculations - a showcase of the incredible depth of knowledge that feeds into managing our natural resources.

The expertise required is not confined to river and drainage basin dynamics, extending into environmental planning, resource management, and engineering among other areas.

With world-class tertiary education right on our doorstep, including Massey University, the Universal College of Learning, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and IPU New Zealand, there are likely many students from Horizons' region studying relevant topics here, as well as those choosing to study outside our region too.

I'm honoured to be on the Don Linklater Memorial Bursary panel, now open for applications until July 10.

The bursary is valued at $3000 a year, for up to three years, and aims to support students studying in areas relevant to Horizons Regional Council.

I'd like to encourage all students from Horizons' region to check out if this might be the bursary opportunity for you.

I'd also like to take a moment to celebrate women in science.

To rise to the challenges of the 21st century, we need to harness our full potential - yet at present, less than 30 per cent of researchers worldwide are women.

While still underrepresented, it is heartening to see an increased movement of women into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) - and into politics for that matter - both signs of positive change and two more things I would have had to explain to my grandmother.

Don Linklater Memorial Bursary application forms are available from www.horizons.govt.nz, Horizons Regional Council's office in Palmerston North or by calling free phone 0508 800 800.