Science fair winner Year 8 Mount Maunganui pupil Nathan Appleton. Photo / Supplied
A love for animals has landed Year 8 Mount Maunganui pupil Nathan Appleton a top prize in this year's Bay of Plenty NIWA Science and Technology Fair.
Appleton's project, Karaka Catcher, saw him design, prototype and test a reusable and eco-friendly product that effectively catches karaka berries, which are poisonous to dogs. His ingenious project won him the $500 prize for Best in Fair.
The NIWA Bay of Plenty Science and Technology Fair took place at Harvest Centre in Rotorua on August 18 and 19, with other fairs also taking place across the country this month.
About 100 students competed at the fair, which was assessed by panel judges from all branches of science, technology, and engineering.
Chief judge, Scion's science operations and optimisation manager Louise Sandford, said the calibre of the science and technology projects this year had been outstanding.
"The students should all be incredibly proud of the work they've put into their projects, especially the intermediate schools.
"The future of science and technology is in very safe hands. I would like to extend my congratulations to Nathan and all the other winners for their fantastic achievement, and my gratitude to everyone who took part."
Kiwanis Runner Up in the fair went to Year 11 pupil Ellen Thompson from ACG Tauranga for her project on the effects of peppermint oil on short-term memory.
Don Raynor Memorial Award for Judges Choice went to Year 9 pupil Alissa Gaulger from Rotorua Lakes High School for her project Battle of the Beans. The judges were incredibly impressed by her methodology, replication and statistical analysis.
Scion Award for Bio-Circular Economy went to Max Farrar from Mount Maunganui Intermediate for the creation of his app - recycle it, which lets you know where you can recycle.
Sponsoring science and technology fairs throughout New Zealand is part of NIWA's long-term commitment to enhancing science and technology for young New Zealanders.
The full list of winners can be found at www.bopscifair.org.nz/results
Losing the stereotypes: Helping young women into IT careers
Tauranga Girls' College computer science students heard from digital technology experts at a recent event to experience pathways for women in the industry.
"Straight 2 the Source" involved 50 students visiting local businesses including Tauranga City Council, LawVu, Datacom, Trustpower, the University of Waikato and Toi Ohomai to meet with women working in IT positions and explore future career opportunities.
The event was part of a wider pilot programme offered by Bay of Plenty tech company ii and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation to encourage young women to take up careers in the digital technology industry.
Jay Tihema, community manager for ii, said it was important to have diversity in the digital technology sector, including women, who are currently underrepresented.
"We are taking a collaborative approach with our wider community to support women in tech and raise awareness about the numerous opportunities available.
"Everyone involved recognises the value of investing in our younger generation and have all been really proactive in communicating their potential future in the tech space."
Students heard from Tauranga City Council scrum master Tamsin Oliver, cyber security engineer Jaimee Pasig, team leader of digital capability Espie West and digital programmes specialist Shannon Pawhau about the different careers digital technology can lead to.
Tamsin Oliver said Tamsin Oliver's advice was to "lose the stereotype".
"Don't think that a role in IT or studying IT makes you a geek; it doesn't. It makes you smart. Stick with it."
Tauranga Girls' College digital technology teacher Grace Jensen said many students assumed IT workers were a certain type of person and that they don't fit that mould.
"The purpose of this project has been to smash those stereotypes and make connections between what students learn in the classroom and the real world."
Year 10 computer science student Aahana Narang said meeting IT professionals in the workplace had inspired her to get involved in IT.
"What interests me about this career is that there are various jobs in IT. You talk to people constantly, you can communicate with people, share your ideas and are always ready to learn and grow."
Summerset announces half-year 2022 results
Retirement village operator Summerset Group Holdings Limited has announced an underlying profit of $82.5 million for the six months ended June 30 2022.
That was a 9.2 per cent increase compared to the first half of 2021 for the group, which has retirement villages in the Bay of Plenty.
Summerset chief executive Scott Scoullar said this was an excellent result, particularly considering the disruptions that the arrival of Omicron created in the half.
"Omicron first arrived in our villages in January and our staff have been working extremely hard to keep residents safe.
"Our residents in the care and memory care centres are at most risk from Covid-19, in order to keep them safe we have had to take a more cautious approach than the rest of the country and continuously adjust our pandemic response to ensure we stay ahead of potential issues for our residents.
"The work we have done has meant that Summerset has dealt with this Omicron wave exceptionally well.
"It's not just our village staff who have had to juggle the complexities of Omicron either, our building sites around the country have been impacted and yet we continue to be on track to meet our building targets."
ANZ subsidising kids club cricket fees
With household budgets feeling the squeeze, ANZ Cricket Grants aim to help keep Rotorua and Bay of Plenty's younger players in the game this season by subsidising Kiwi kids' club cricket fees.
ANZ is making $50,000 available to families who would benefit from the support, and successful applicants will receive up to $80 towards their fees - which will be provided in the form of a voucher to redeem when registering with New Zealand Cricket.
This financial help could be the difference between some kids playing cricket this summer, or not.
ANZ Bank New Zealand chief executive Antonia Watson said paying fees was one of the first barriers families face when deciding if they can register their child to play.
"Sport is such an important part of a child's wellbeing, both mentally and physically.
"The increased cost of living can put families in a tough position when it comes to managing the household budget. We hope this will help ease some of that pressure and keep more kids playing cricket."
New Zealand Cricket general manager of community cricket, Kent Stead, said the initiative from ANZ was extremely helpful, and he hoped families who might have thought it not possible for their children to play this season will reconsider thanks to this new initiative.
Families can apply at www.anzcricketworld.co.nz between August 15 and 23. A maximum of two children per family can benefit from the subsidy.
Applications for the ANZ Coin Toss experience, which gives one lucky cricket fan the opportunity to join the captains for the pre-match toss, four tickets to the game and a photo to remember it all, open on August 25.
ANZ has been a sponsor of New Zealand Cricket for almost 23 years, injecting more than $1.6m into community cricket during that time.
Geyser Community Foundation donors gift $2m-plus
Geyser Community Foundation donors have gifted more than $2 million since the first distribution to the local community in 2008, its latest chairman and executive officer's report has revealed.
In presenting the report at Geyser's AGM in Rotorua last week, chairperson Helene Phillips said this significant milestone was a wonderful tribute to local people who care about their home town and the future of their community.
"Thanks to our donors' generosity we celebrate a great financial year of gifts totalling more than $300,000 supporting a wide variety of charitable causes in the Rotorua and Taupo District communities and beyond.
"Our growing family of donors, including those who generously donate towards our operating costs, help the foundation maintain a steady growth and, in times of financial constraint such as we are currently experiencing, supporting the local community is more important than ever."
Based on a well-established and globally successful model, the community foundation network in Aotearoa New Zealand has been growing since 2003.
Phillips said Geyser was the fifth to be established and its success is the result of local people understanding they can do good things with their charitable intentions and, when they partner with others, even greater things.
"Today, we have the second highest number of funds established, more than 90, and are ranked third for the highest number of funds anticipated in people's wills so far."
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