Whareroa draft farm interpretation plan: Dissertation as partial requirement to the Diploma in Parks and Recreation, Lincoln College

Abstract

Much quality interpretation of New Zealand's natural environment exists today. Until recently this expertise has seldom been applied in the area of farming. This report makes a move towards correcting this imbalance, bearing in mind that farming is a resource use second to none in its importance to the New Zealand economy and way of life.

The Whareroa farm project is part of the Lands and Survey Department's response to the recognition that it administers regional, educational and recreational resources which are underutilised.

The Department's aspiration is to open up the field of farm interpretation in order to provide a service to the public close to urban centres.

This project is also acting as a pilot scheme to test the validity of combining farm interpretation with a full scale farming operation.

My involvement was initiated by a request from the Department for a student to carry out a six week feasibility study on Whareroa Farm Unit in the Wellington region.

My personal interest in the project was in the challenge of applying visitor management and interpretive planning techniques to a working farm. In doing so I hoped to help pave the way for the fast-growing movement of farm interpretation.

The exercise was also an opportunity to apply the broader training I'd received during the Diploma in Parks and Recreation at Lincoln College in the areas of natural sciences, interpretation, and planning.