ANZ Retail and Business Banking Performance & Delivery—1 March 2019

We were delighted to once again welcome executives from the ANZ Auckland Retail & Business Banking Performance and Delivery team to CUE Haven to help out with walking track maintenance.  The team arrived by 8:30 and included Chantal, Eileen, James, Joanna, Lily, Rishi and Tracey.  Also joining us were our friend Alan and student volunteer David.

Most of the team had been out to CUE Haven before and it was great to catch up with old friends and meet the new people. Over morning tea Mahrukh updated the group on recent activities at CUE Haven and upcoming projects.

Thomas then described the plan for the day and gave a safety briefing.

The plan for the day was to split the group into two teams.  One team would work with Alan improving a long section of track and installing a step up to a bench and the other team would work with Thomas fixing some old track steps on another track.

We drove up to the work area and the first task was to unload the gear and carry it down to the sites.

Alan’s team worked on the Taraire track in an area where the track needed to be widened and retained.

This work involved a lot of digging as the old retaining boards had to be removed before the ground could be cut back and the retaining boards reinstalled. It was hard work and a real challenge because the ground is rock hard these days due to the unusually hot, dry summer.

Once the track was widened, the team had to study the topography to determine the needed length of the boards and the best way to secure them.

They went to work with mallets and hammers to re-install the retaining boards to prevent erosion.

In spite of the challenging ground conditions the enthusiastic team made huge improvements in the track.

On that section of track there is also an interesting bench built by students last year that was a bit high for visitors to comfortably reach.

Alan had made a step frame and the team took a few minutes studying how best to install it.

It took a lot of hard work to dig out holes to fix the step into, but the end result is a major improvement to this section of the track.

In the meantime Thomas’s team headed farther down to the Kahikatea track to work on a section where the steps needed to be widened.

An old step needed to be removed before the area could be widened and improved. That step board had been fixed in the ground with long steel posts so it took James a lot of levering and pounding to get it out.

The team then studied the area and came up with a plan for widening and improving the steps and the corner.  They dug out the area and installed a new and wider step.

Once the new step was in, they installed retaining walls around the curve of the steps.  This required measuring, digging, sawing and nailing.

The retaining boards were secured with pegs and nails.

The next challenge was to connect the new step to the existing track.  This also involved a lot of digging.

The boards were then cut to size cut to size and fitted into place.

The team even used a high tech spirit level to ensure the step was straight.

And then pegged and nailed the board in place.

They then levelled off the soil to make the path smooth and neat.

They also dug out the area at the top of the steps to give visitors more room to maneuver around the corner.

The last step was to cut some small boards to fill in the sides of the new steps going down hill.

The boards were then nailed in place.

The team came up with practical and innovative solutions to some complicated track issues and the end result is a huge improvement in the appearance and ease of use of the track section.

Both teams should be very proud of their efforts. There was great team work which enabled them to accomplish a lot.

A big thank you to Alan and David for giving up a day and coming out to help. We really appreciate your help.

Our many thanks to Kirstie for organising today’s visit and continuing to champion CUE Haven in her department. Unfortunately Kirstie couldn’t join us today but we look forward to having her out again with her other team members soon.

And of course a huge thank you to all the hard working team members who came today.  We really enjoyed working with you and very much appreciate your efforts.  You were delightful to work with and managed to accomplish a lot. You have made a major contribution to the CUE Haven landscape and your track improvements will be enjoyed and appreciated by visitors for many years to come.

We look forward to having you back soon with your families and friends for a leisurely visit and back next year for another ANZ volunteer day.

THANK YOU!!