Linking urban and rural

Dairy farmer Kyle Brennan with his three children, Harley, Anite and Marcus. Mr Brennan believes the new orienteering map is an opportunity for urban and rural New Zealand to reconnect. Photo / Ben Fraser

Since English missionary John Gare Butler made the first recorded ploughing of the land in New Zealand on May 3, 1820, agriculture has become the lifeblood of the country's economy.

Fast-forward to the present day, and dairy farming in the Bay of Plenty alone is an almost-billion dollar industry.

But Reporoa dairy farmer Kyle Brennan thinks that something has been lost along the way.

"In the past, many town people had a family connection with agriculture, be it a cousin, uncle or auntie, who worked on the land. It was a place you could visit during the holidays, help milk the cows or learn to drive the tractor. That's not so much the case anymore."

A desire to unearth this affinity between town and country is a major reason why Mr Brennan has supported the creation of a new orienteering map that includes his farm.

Part-funded by Orienteering Bay of Plenty, the map takes in three dairy farms and a sheep and beef property which boundaries the Paeroa Range, a total of approximately 350ha.

One of the dairy farms is owned by Fonterra, but the other three properties - the Lesley farm, the O'Connor farm, and the Brennan farm - have all been owned by the same families since they were first awarded in ballots to returning servicemen after World War II.

This Sunday, the Brennan's farm will host an orienteering day to celebrate the completion of the new map. Entry is by gold coin donation, and it is promised that the event will go ahead whatever the weather.

Speaking to The Land, Mr Brennan said the map represented an opportunity for "urban and rural New Zealand to reconnect".

"I think most people get the importance of farming to New Zealand's GDP and export dollars earned. Hopefully this map will help showcase other contributions farmers make, such as providing recreational opportunities to the public, wetland protection, and tree planting."

The section of the map including the dairy farms has been named the "Milky Way," a nod to the early mornings under the stars that dairy farmers know well.

Highly-detailed orienteering maps are expensive to produce, and last year Orienteering BOP successfully applied the to Fonterra Grass Roots fund in the hope of securing a grant to help pay for the map.

The fund's stated aim is to support "clever ideas, projects and initiatives" in the rural community. Fonterra will join Farm Source in providing a BBQ lunch for the event on Sunday.

For Darren Ashmore, secretary for Bay of Plenty Orienteering and a former national champion, the creation of a new map presented an opportunity to bring orienteering to a wider audience.

"It's a family-friendly activity that gets people walking or jogging or running around and learning new skills," he said. "We are always looking for new and different areas to create maps. It would be great if more landowners were keen for that as well."

There were definite benefits for farmers in opening their land up to orienteering, said Mr Ashmore. "They are contributing to the health and welfare of people, and the bonus for them is that they end up with a high-quality drawn map of their property."

He believed there had been a resurgence of interest in outdoor pursuits like orienteering following a difficult few years. "If you go back to the late 2000s during the time of the financial crisis, people just pulled back on recreational activities and travel. But now people are coming out to explore again."

-The orienteering is this Sunday, starting at the Brennan farm at the top of Jay Rd, Farm Supply number 78964, Reporoa. Pre-race briefing at 10.30am, start-time 11am. BBQ lunch at midday.