27 November 2025 Wireless communications scholarship allowed Heidi to reach into the canopies

That’s a problem which her scholarship with the Tait Foundation solved perfectly. The funding and support she received meant she could design climate sensors and purchase a drone to help her reach the highest layers of our canopies.

It’s been vital to her Master of Conservation and Ecology. She’s comparing the beetles at ground level with those up in the understorey and canopy across beech forests of New Zealand. Her research is taking her from Kaikoura across to the West Coast to compare the beetles in the two locations. She’s also looking at the microclimates of each location and seeing how that affects the distribution.

“This is important because we can understand how climate change is having an effect on our species if we know what climate factors are important for where they live.

The Tait Foundation Postgraduate Scholarships are designed to help students just like Heidi. It’s open to all disciplines across the university for any student with an interest and focus on the convergence of land-based issues and emerging radio and wireless technologies.

The scholarship is funded by The Tait Foundation and the Tait Contel Charitable Trust, charitable organisations which are the principal shareholders of Tait Communications, a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio technology and communications. They’ve got a long history of designing, developing and supporting crucial communication solutions across New Zealand and the world.

Their support for our students gives them the chance to make a huge impact on our environment and land-based industries. Heidi’s findings could help organisations like the Department of Conservation improve species monitoring and give forest-based industries better insights into their impacts on our species.

See more about the Tait Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship. Applications for 2026 are closing soon.