Horizons Regional Council awards memorial bursary to four environmental studies students

Horizons Regional Council has awarded four students the Don Linklater Memorial Bursary for 2025.
 

The bursary, totalling $8,000, aims to support students studying in fields relevant to some of Horizons’ work, and can be split between up to four recipients.
 
Horizons councillor Te Kenehi Teira says the recipients were selected for their interest in the earth sciences and resource and environmental planning.
 
“The bursary is a great way of supporting students while contributing to investing to the environmental work Horizons undertakes,” says Cr Teira.
 
“It’s encouraging to see the calibre of candidates coming through and their commitment to the region.”
 
This year’s recipients are Jacob Anderson, Olivia Bedwell, Taimihi Te Waiora Ferris, and Thomas Dunn-Hall.
 
Mr Anderson is in his second year of studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in agriculture at Lincoln University. Has been accepted onto an exchange to Colorado State University in semester two this year.
 
Ms Bedwell is in her third year of study at the University of Otago for a Bachelor of Science, majoring in botany and minoring in environmental management, and a Bachelor of Laws. 
 
Ms Te Waiora Ferris is a second year student in the Bachelor of Environmental Management  programme at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Her research area includes resource management and environmental planning, focussing on river systems and their function in both natural and man-made environments.
 
Mr Dunn-Hall is studying towards a Masters of Engineering Geology at the University of Auckland. He has completed a Bachelor of Science, majoring in earth sciences and environmental physics also at the University of Auckland.
 
The Don Linklater Memorial Bursary was established to honour the contribution made to the Horizons Region by the late Don Linklater, who was Horizons’ chair from 1989 to 2000.
 
Eligible applicants for the bursary need be New Zealand citizens or residents, and must be from the Horizons Region. However, they can be studying outside the region.
 
Applications for the 2026 funding round will open early next year. More information can be found at www.horizons.govt.nz in the Grants and Sponsorships section.