Two weeks ago, several staff from the Retail division of the Auckland office of Nestle New Zealand had a very successful planting day at CUE Haven.  Today, eleven of their colleagues from the Professional Division who couldn’t come previously were on site for a sunny but cool day of planting.

The team arrived before nine and included AJ, Andrew H, Andrew M, Ann-Marie, Debbie, Karllie, Nick, Paul Sm, Paul St, Scott and Silvija.

We spent some time getting acquainted over morning tea and then gave the group an overview of the CUE Haven project, a description of the plan for the day and a safety briefing.

We then took the short walk out to the planting area.

Today we continued planting in the area that the other Nestle team had worked on and the team was joined by six American students with International Student Volunteers and their Kiwi team leader Evan.  Both teams met up and went to work.  It was challenging planting because the ground is steep and uneven and also covered with a thick layer of dead kikuyu grass.

The team went straight to work, carrying trays of plants up the hill to the planting areas.

As the team worked the cows on the neighbouring farm kept a close watch.

Before lunch they gathered up all the trays and pots and then went down for a relaxing lunch and to spend some time together.

It was a perfect day for planting and in just under three hours the combined teams planted 1,072 trees!  An amazing effort

After lunch we took the Nestle team on a tour of the property and for a short walk down the gully walking track.

Once again, we had a fantastic time with the Nestle team.  It was great meeting all of you and we were impressed with your professionalism, collegiality and hard work.  We want to thank Kate and Debbie for all their help with organising the visit today and our many thanks to every one of you for all your hard work and effort today.

You have made a big contribution to your carbon-neutral initiative with all of the native trees you planted today.  Not only will they be absorbing carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, they will also create a fantastic environment for birds, skinks and wetas.  Thank you very much. We look forward to having you all back again for a more relaxing visit.

We are very grateful for all the support Nestle NZ has provided to CUE Haven over the years and we look forward to our ongoing partnership.

THANKS AGAIN!