Science trio earn dream trips abroad

Alex Edwards (left), Jason Leaming, Georgia Putt, and Lucy Ellingham took part in the week-long Realise the Dream science tour. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Students from Kerikeri High School have won three of the nine top prizes at the week-long Realise the Dream science tour, earning them all-expenses-paid trips to science fairs in the UK and Taiwan.

In December last year, 16 students from around the country were chosen to take part in Realise the Dream on the strength of their science projects.

Kerikeri High teens Lucy Ellingham, 18, Georgia Putt, 17, Jason Leaming, 17, and Alex Edwards, who was 13 when selected, snared four of the 16 places on the tour. Now the budding scientists have won three of the tour's nine travel prizes and scholarships.

Georgia, whose research focused on algal blooms afflicting Northland lakes, won the British High Commission Travel Award and will join 300 students from 60 countries at the London Youth International Science Forum in July. She is also expected to visit the Cern particle accelerator in Geneva, Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Jason and Lucy will attend the Taiwan International Science and Engineering Fair in Taipei next month.

Jason won the Ipenz Travel Award for his research into using worms to turn dairy waste into compost while Lucy won the DairyNZ Travel Award for her research into how phosphates from farming run-off influence the growth of duckweed in polluted rivers and whether calcium carbonate can reduce phosphate levels.

Realise the Dream is organised by the Royal Society of New Zealand to reward students for excellent science research or engineering.

They were hosted by science organisations around the North Island including the Liggins Institute and the Photon Factory at the University of Auckland, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, DairyNZ, Genesis Energy and Niwa.