Conrad Smith: Farming and sport share similar demands
The challenges of high-performance sport and farming are not as dissimilar as they may first appear.
The award is a result of a bequest to QEII from the estate of Professor Athol Patterson, which set up a bursary to support students at Massey University interested in sustainable farming practices. Nick was selected from a shortlist of applicants submitted by the university's Scholarship Committee.
QEII Trust Chairman James Guild says he is impressed with the ambition and commitment Nick demonstrated for his course of study and for sustainable agriculture.
"Nick is clearly a diligent student and an excellent communicator. We believe he will be a fine advocate for sustainable land management practices both as a student and later as he develops his career in the agriculture industry,"
Nick's family farms sheep and beef just north of Taumarunui. He acknowledges his grandparents for passing on the tenets of environmental awareness. Grandparents on both sides have between them retired and fenced off or covenanted over 120 ha of native bush on their farms.
Nick believes buy-in for protection of natural places on private land can be achieved when people understand the issues at hand and what is at stake. He hopes one day to play a role in raising awareness and communicating the benefits of environmental care and ecosystem protection on farms.
Now into his second year of an AgriCommerce degree, majoring in agricultural economics, Nick aspires to working in the meat industry with a focus on marketing.
"Nick's application showed a good philosophical fit with the QEII Athol Patterson Bursary objectives. It is a great pleasure to be able to support him with the bursary and we wish him all the best in his studies," Guild says.
The QEII Athol Patterson Bursary award is a result of a bequest to QEII from the estate of Professor Athol Patterson, which set up a bursary to support students at Massey University interested in sustainable farming practices. Professor Patterson was a doctor of tropical medicines and taught in various universities around the world before retiring to Waverley where he had two small dairy farms.
QEII (Queen Elizabeth II National Trust) is an independent statutory body whose core activity is to assist private landowners in New Zealand to protect significant natural and cultural features on their land through open space covenants. More information on QEII National Trust can be found at www.openspace.org.nz
More information about the QEII Athol Patterson Bursary can be found on the Massey University website www.massey.ac.nz
