The rural voices to listen to

‘‘Summer has left our little world dim with smoke drifting over from devouring fires on the mainland. The sun rises in a mist and sets in a red haze of smoke clouds. Year by year the destruction goes on. Much land of no use for farming or cultivation is also burned in the process. As the mainland bush is demolished the birds retreat further and further…’’ This is the gentle, horrified voice of May Wilkinson, writing in the 1920s as co-manager of Ka¯ piti Island Reserve as fire rages through the Ka¯ piti Coast.

Most will decry the razing of the Amazon Basin, yet this was our history from the 1840s into the 1980s. We need to acknowledge and address that.

Many farmers work with Kiwi ingenuity to ensure their farms remain viable for grandchildren. I used to rub shoulders with them on the Conservation Board. These are the rural voices we need to listen to.

Derek Schulz, Raumati Beach