RMLA Scholarship Winner for 2009 and Changes to the Scholarship

Jemma Simon-Stewart has been awarded the RMLA Scholarship for 2009. Jemma, who is working towards a Masters of Forestry Science at the University of Canterbury, plans to research biodiversity banking in New Zealand and Oceania. Of the five applications for the scholarship, Jemma's proposal was the stand-out application: the Selection Committee was impressed with her academic achievements and for the quality of her research proposal. The motivation for Jemma undertaking this research is her recognition that if we are to succeed in conserving our biodiversity in New Zealand, we need to have effective ways of ensuring that biodiversity on privately-owned land is sustainably managed and conserved.

The Selection Committee was made up of Craig Mallett and Maree Baker from the RMLA National Committee and Dr Hugh Bigsby from the NZ Vice-Chancellor's Committee. The value of the award was $12,000.

There have also been some changes made to the RMLA scholarship, to come into effect for the 2010 round. The changes are intended to make the scholarship more accessible to a wider range of applications at Honors and Masters level. The award will be reduced to $5,000 per successful applicant and there will generally be three awards per year (at the discretion of the Selection Committee). Scholarships are to be confined to Masters or Honours level (but not Doctoral) research.