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Northland Regional Councillor Bill Rossiter and NRC ‘Consistent Excellence Award’ winner Hugh McKenzie at the New Zealand Refining Company Central Northland Science and Technology Fair in Whangarei.

The project - ‘Surreptitious ‘P’’ - won 18-year-old Whangarei Boys High School student Hugh McKenzie the Regional Council’s Consistent Excellence Award.

Hugh compared phosphate levels in lakeside sediment between the lake and two different lakeside farming properties – one unfertilised and the other with high levels of fertiliser application.

He found phosphate levels in the sediment alongside the highly fertilised farm to be significantly higher than that of the unfertilised property.

Hugh said previous research into the effects of runoff into the lake had concentrated on looking at phosphate levels in the lake water and on the farmland itself.

The Year 13 (7th Form) student was one of 99 students from 15 schools around the wider Whangarei District competing at the New Zealand Refining Company-sponsored fair, now in its 31st year.

The five-day event at Forum North in Whangarei ends on Friday 28 August and is organised by Central Northland science and technology teachers and experts.

Hugh has been entering science fairs for seven years, winning a total of almost 30 awards and several thousand dollars along the way and travelling to Wellington and Beijing, China as the result of his participation.

“If you have a problem try and solve it using science fair principles,” Hugh says.   “Investigate and try to find a solution. These principles apply to anything in life, not just science.”

Hugh encourages senior science students in particular to continue their science fair participation.

Hugh’s NRC award is one of four he won at this year’s fair.  The others are a Royal Forest and Bird Society award, best investigation in the fair’s Year 11 to Year 13 class and best Year 11 to Year 13 exhibit.

He says his research continues to emphasise the importance of farmers adjacent to the lake finding ways to stop fertiliser runoff getting into the water body.

One option could be farmers creating drains on their farmland for farm water runoff to go into, rather than that letting it go into the lake.

High levels of phosphate and other nutrient levels in the lake contributed to the growth of unwanted bacteria and poisonous algae.

Regional Councillor Bill Rossiter says it’s good to see research like Hugh’s that will help ongoing efforts by the Northland Regional Council and the community to improve the quality of Lake Omapere.

Cr Rossiter says he was once again impressed with the overall quality of the entries in this year’s fair and “they reflect positively on the current state of the education system”.

The Regional Council prize contributes $1000 towards the cost of a student’s university studies and must be used within three years.

Hugh plans to add his NRC award money to accumulated previous science fair winnings to attend the University of Otago in Dunedin where he will study first year health science in preparation for medical school.