​Te Karaka student Roland Taupara Brown has been awarded a Mangatu Blocks Incorporation - Ravensdown Scholarship for three years study at Auckland University.

Roland says the scholarship provides him with a unique opportunity to focus on his studies in science and commerce at Auckland University. His Bachelor of Science degree will focus on green chemistry and his Bachelor of Commerce will provide the business disciplines to ensure a balance between environmental and commercial considerations.

“Looking ahead, it’s obvious that we need more efficient and eco-friendly technologies to protect the environment and maintain our competitiveness,” he says.

Specialist and qualified people who are able to use their knowledge and ingenuity to solve the problems are an essential part of our future. I aim to be one of those people.

Roland has family connections with the Mangatu Blocks Incorporation: his father Tama is on the committee, his grandfather Michael was the farm supervisor during the seventies and eighties, and his great grandfather George was a farm manager for many years.

Roland is looking forward to making a contribution to the incorporation in the future.

Mangatu Blocks Incorporation manages ancestral lands inland and to the north of Gisborne and has interests in the agribusiness, viticulture and forestry sectors. These include 31 hectares of vineyard, 16,000 hectares of productive farm land, 4,500 hectares of exotic forest and 15,000 hectares of indigenous forest.

Mangatu-owned Integrated Foods Group is considered a trailblazer in the development of integrated food operations - maintaining control over quality from pasture to plate.

The Mangatu Blocks Incorporation - Ravensdown Scholarship was established in 2012 for Mangatu Blocks shareholders, their children or their grandchildren, to support undergraduate study in an agricultural/ horticultural or related undergraduate degree.

See our Careers site for scholarship opportunities