JUNE 3, 2022 — The Mary Majka Scholarship Fund was created in June of 2014 to honour the legacy of Mary Majka, one of Nature NB’s founding members and its President from 1980-84. The Fund’s purpose is to further youth engagement with nature and our natural heritage, one of Mary’s primary interests.

The Fund is open to New Brunswick students from middle school to those attending an undergraduate program. It is hoped that annual awards can be granted ranging from $250 to $1,000, depending on the number of applicants, application quality and funds available.

Three types of scholarship are offered:

• Category 1 is open to high school graduates about to start post-secondary studies in the field of natural sciences with an interest in nature and the environment. This would be conveyed as a study scholarship.
• Category 2 is available to post-secondary students already enrolled in the field of natural sciences with an interest in nature and the environment. This would also be conveyed as a study scholarship.
• Category 3 could be awarded to students in middle or high school wanting to further their knowledge in the natural sciences and would be given as a contribution to cover specific expenses such as a special project, study course or participation in a workshop.

Twenty-one students applied by the March 2022 deadline. The Scholarship Committee met in late May to review and evaluate the applications and determine the awards that might be possible, given the quality of the applications.

The Committee recommended that $1,000 study scholarships be awarded in 2022 to Oliver Willis of Oakland near Florenceville in Category 1, and to Hayley Banks of Fredericton in Category 2.

A third scholarship was awarded to Davin MacAskill of Sackville for $500, in Category 3.

Oliver Willis will graduate Carleton North High School this June and move on to Crandall University where he plans a BSc in Biology before attending Acadia U. for a Master’s in Marine Biology. His career goal is to become an oceanographer or a marine environmental conservationist. His interest in the oceans and the life within them began when he visited the Maine Discovery Museum while in grade two.

Hayley Banks has completed her second year at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton pursuing a BSc in Forestry. The conservation of wildlife has always been important to her and summer work includes the monitoring and conservation of freshwater mussels, bird and vegetation studies and research on Wood Turtles. Her career goals include earning a Master’s degree in Forestry.

Davin MacAskill is a grade nine student at Tantramar Regional High School in Sackville. He has always been interested in nature and his passion for bird photography grew after his photo of a Common Grackle took first place at the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada Photography Competition in 2018. Davin will use his scholarship to attend a two-day field photography workshop led by wildlife photographer John Chardine in June of this year.

Nature NB is proud to support Oliver, Hayley and Davin in their studies and congratulates them on their accomplishments to date.

Donations to the Mary Majka Scholarship Fund can be made online, by cheque or e-transfer through the Nature NB office at 61 Carleton Street, Suite 3, Fredericton, N.B. E3B 3T2. Information brochures are available online at the Nature NB website.

Nature NB is a New Brunswick non-profit, charitable organization and charitable receipts are issued.

— Jim Wilson
Chair, Mary Majka Scholarship Fund Committee