14:52, Jul 29 2021 Supplied Andrew Boot is a researcher with Taranaki medicinal cannabis business Greenfern. Andrew Boot’s journey from high school student to medicinal cannabis researcher is the perfect example of the power of science and technology fairs, co-manager of the Witt Taranaki Science & Technology Fair Adriane Besse says. In 2016, Boot who was studying at New Plymouth Boys’ High School, developed a project for the annual fair about nitrate leaching and how different soil types affect the amount of nitrate from fertilisers running off into our waterways. His good work was rewarded with a $1000 scholarship funded by Dow AgroSciences and led to him studying agricultural science at Massey University, despite previous plans to study veterinary science, Besse said.