Air New Zealand Digital Strategy Team—19 June 2017

This week is National Volunteer Week in New Zealand and as part of the week’s celebration of volunteering, a team from Air New Zealand’s Digital Strategy group came out to CUE Haven for a day of planting.

The group arrived around ten and included Amit, Bronwyn, Craig, Gareth, Gillian, Jim, Jolyon, Michael, Nick, Paul, Philip, Rajesh, Sheryl, Shruti, Tim, Tom, Tony, Wayne and Yvette.

We got acquainted over morning tea and then Mahrukh gave a brief history of the CUE Haven project and Thomas gave a description of the work planned for the day and a safety briefing.

We then took the short walk up to the planting area and went to work.  The plan for the day was to do infill planting of big trees in the area first planted in 2014.  There is a section that slopes into a wetland and we decided to plant the area with kahikatea in the wetter areas and kowhai on the slightly higher ground.

It was challenging planting because the trees need to be planted amongst the pioneer trees that are growing up.  The group broke into teams of two and ventured into the bush!

The weather forecast was for rain, but fortunately it stayed dry the entire time and the conditions were perfect for planting.

Everyone was spread out in the bush and it was a real challenge finding them all so we could take pictures!

The group was very hard working and enthusiastic and we even had to bring up more plants.  In addition to the kahikatea and kowhai, they also planted some lancewood, taraire, matai and miro trees.

In just a few hours, the group planted an amazing number of trees and set a new record for the number of infill trees planted per man hour by a volunteer group!!

When they finished planting they even helped gather up the empty pots and crates for recycling.

It was then time for a relaxing lunch and later we went for a walk to explore more of the property.

It was a very successful and productive day and we are thrilled with all that the Air NZ Digital Strategy team accomplished.

We want to thank Yvette for organizing the day and also a huge thank you to everyone in the group.  It was a pleasure meeting all of you and working with you. We really appreciate your enthusiasm and hard work and help.  The canopy trees you planted will create a sustainable habitat for a variety of plant and animal life and the growing forest will be enjoyed by the community for many generations. What a great legacy!!

We hope you will come back for a more leisurely visit with your families and friends to explore more of the property and to see how your trees are growing.

Many Thanks Again!!