ANZ Albany Office Commercial and Agribusiness Group—11 April 2017

ANZ continued their fantastic support as a team from the Albany office based Commercial and Agribusiness group finished off the new walking track.

The group arrived first thing in the morning and included Andy, Ben, Craig, Daniel, Emma, John, Maurice, Morrison, Pamela, QinQin, Richard, Sam, Sarah, Scott and Sherry.

We got acquainted over morning tea and then Mahrukh gave a welcome and an overview of the CUE Haven project and Thomas told the group about the work planned for the day and gave a safety briefing.

The plan for the day was to continue to finish off the new walking track at the top of the property.  The track was started last summer in the area we planted in 2016 and we have now had a chance to see how weather and water are affecting the track so we can fix any drainage or erosion problems.

Previous teams had been working to put in retaining walls and box in steps that were prone to erosion.  Today’s plan was to finish off some steps that still needed to be boxed in and do a general fix up of any other areas.  We also needed to level and smooth the track to prepare it for the final step—a layer or gravel to make it safe for people to walk on year round.

We drove up to the top of the property, and before going to work we broke into two teams.

The first team used rakes and spades to level the track surface and make sure there were no high or low spots or places where the gravel might wash off the track.

The second team took on the task of finishing off a set of steps which had been started by previous teams.  They levelled and straightened the steps to make them safer and easier to use and boxed in the sides to prevent erosion.

The work required a lot of planning and teamwork.  Each step and section of track is different because of the terrain, so each section presented different challenges.  Plus it was necessary to carefully join up the previously completed sections of the steps.  The team studied the situation and came up with creative solutions to each challenge.

We brought down the equipment and timber.  The boards came in long lengths which then had to be cut to size after careful measuring.

The first task was to dig out the sides of the steps, straighten them out and determine the best way to install the side boards.

The new boards were then fitted into place and secured with nails and pegs.

The hard working team found some additional track sections that needed to be fixed and we brought down more timber and labored on.

The levelling team finished off their work and helped out with the boxing and framing.

Thanks to the efforts of this hardworking team the new track is now complete—a fantastic effort and it is now possible to walk the entire length of the property on walking tracks constructed by volunteers.  The next step will be to lay down a layer of gravel on this new track to make it safer for year round use.

It was wonderful seeing the collegiality and teamwork of the ANZ group.  They accomplished a lot of work and tackled some big track work challenges and came up with great solutions.

After finishing off, the group took a leisurely walk back to the cottage for lunch and along the way Thomas pointed out some additional features of the property and described some of the issues associated with the restoration project such as pest and weed control.

Our many thanks to Sarah for organizing today’s visit.

And a big thank you to everyone who came out today!  We really enjoyed working with you all and very much appreciate your hard work and amazing contribution to CUE Haven.  It was great to see you all participating fully and working as a team and coming up with good ideas for making the track better.

We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.  Thank you for your help and support. You have made a much valued and lasting contribution to CUE Haven and New Zealand’s natural heritage and the community. The track you built today will be used and enjoyed by visitors for many years to come as they explore the growing native forest at CUE Haven.

We very much look forward to having you out again for a leisurely visit with your friends and family, and we hope to also see you again for another fun and productive volunteer day.

Thanks again!