Six University of Otago students have been selected as Blake ambassadors.
They will be part of a group of 13 young people who will work over summer with leading scientists, conservationists and rangers in their fields of interest.
The programme gave recipients the opportunity to work with staff from Antarctica New Zealand, GNS Science, National Institute of Water (Niwa) and the Department of Conservation (Doc).
Blake — formerly the Sir Peter Blake Trust — chief executive officer James Gibson said people were selected for their passion for the environment, their love of the outdoors, and their commitment to a career protecting and conserving it for future generations.
The ambassadors, aged 18-25 years, would be placed in remote locations around New Zealand and Antarctica to build relationships and experience the practical elements of their field of study.
Jackson Beagley (25), who will help scientists measure greenhouse gas trapped in Antarctica; Tim Currie (21) who will spend four weeks helping with the Chatham Rise fish survey; Hazel Gibson (21) and Abby Clarke (23), who will assist Doc on the Takahe recovery programme at Burwood Takahe Breeding Centre; Oscar Thomas (21) and Katherine Rossiter (22) will work with Doc’s Kakapo Recovery team; and Kate Hodgson (21) will work with researchers on the ‘‘Lakes380’’ programme to ‘‘characterise and reconstruct the health of New Zealand’s lakes’’.
- By Molly Millar
