Skip to main content

The doors to our Whitianga and Paeroa offices will be closed for the summer break from 4pm on Friday, 20 December, while our Taupō and Hamilton offices will close for the summer break at 1pm on Tuesday, 24 December. All offices will reopen on Monday, 6 January 2025. To report air or water pollution, unsafe water activities in or on a river, lake or harbour, or make a general enquiry or information request during this time, call us 24/7 on 0800 800 401.

Close alert

Roger Harris Scholarship to help with university course fees

Published: 24/10/2024

A scholarship dedicated to helping students whose families live in the Waihou Piako zone rating area is open for applications.

The Roger Harris (Waihou Valley Scheme) Scholarship supports one student each year to study civil engineering or resource management, with a particular focus on river and catchment management. It provides up to $6000 toward the cost of university fees.

This scholarship marks the contribution of the late Roger Harris (chief engineer to the then Hauraki Catchment Board 1959-1983) to the development and initial implementation of the Waihou Valley Scheme. This scheme – which includes river and catchment management infrastructure worth almost $130 million – covers a catchment of approximately 220,000 hectares on the eastern side of the Hauraki Plains and Thames Valley. It allows around an extra 50,000 hectares of land to be farmed safely.

The scholarship is open to all students with family resident within the Waihou Piako zone rating area who pay Waikato Regional Council targeted rates for the Waihou Valley Scheme or the Piako River Scheme (generally landowners with property around Thames, Ngatea, Paeroa, Waihi, Te Aroha, Morrinsville, Matamata, Tirau and part of Putāruru).

Applicants should submit a CV, including qualifications, copies of NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 results on official NCEA paper and extracurricular activities and other information that demonstrates your skills and attributes.

Applications close on 7 February 2025.

Full details about the scholarship and how to apply are available at this link:
https://waikatoregion.govt.nz/community/funding-and-scholarships/roger-harris-scholarship/