ANZ North and West Business Banking—10 April 2019

Our successful summer track maintenance work continued thanks to the efforts of a great group of professionals from ANZ’s North and West Auckland Business Banking.

The group arrived bright and early and included Alex, Allan, Anita, Daniel, Joe, Kelly, Linda, Lynn, Maryanne, Pari, Sam, Sharon and Shrenik.  Almost all members of the group had been out to CUE Haven at least once before and it was great to see old friends and meet new ones.

Also joining us for the day was our dear friend Alan who has been helping out regularly.

We spent some time chatting over morning tea and then Mahrukh gave an update on new developments at CUE Haven and our current plans.

Thomas then gave an overview of the work planned for the day and a safety briefing.

Several teams have worked to upgrade the taraire track over the summer and this team managed to finish off most of the work.  There were a few challenging sections that we still needed to complete and we asked the team today to tackle them.  We drove up to the work site and started with a short walk so they could see the work to be done and start thinking of solutions.

We broke into two team – one team worked with Alan to install side retaining boards near the top of the track and the other team worked with Thomas to retain a long section of track where there is a steep drop off and to install railings on a small bridge.

The first task was to bring down all the tools and equipment.

Alan’s team worked to join up two sections of previously completed track.  The first phase of the work involved a lot of digging to correct any drainage and leveling issues and to make room for side retaining boards.  They laid out the boards to see the best routing for the track.

The next challenge was to figure out the length of the retaining boards and cut them to size.

As the boards were cut to size, they were installed by nailing and pegging them into place. And ensuring they were level.

The final challenge was joining up the two runs of retaining timber around a sharp curve.

The team made some amazing improvements in the track and should be very proud of their work.

In the meantime, the other team worked near the middle of the track, retaining a section with a steep edge.  They started out by measuring the area and laying out the boards to determine the best way to install them.

They dug out a channel and used long pegs to secure the boards.

The boards were carefully nailed to the pegs to hold everything in place.

They continued down the track, extending the retaining walls.

Working around trees along the edge of the track presented a challenge.

But the team members were creative and adventurous in coming up with solutions.

When they completed the retaining walls, they moved down the track to build some railings on a small bridge.  They planned the work and brought down the timber they would need.

They decided where to install the support posts.

And secured them in place.

They then measured the length for the top rail.

And cut it to size.

They checked to make sure everything was even and level.

And secured the rails in place.  The job required a lot of teamwork and nailing.

They had a small celebration when one side was complete.

And then repeated the process for the other side of the bridge.

The moment of truth came when they checked to make sure the railings were even.

The railings are a great improvement and look really good and the team should be really proud of their efforts.

Thanks to the hard work of this team and many other ANZ teams, we have now almost finished the work on this track.  The last big job is to spread a layer of gravel on the track.  A lot of the track sections are exposed clay which can be very slippery and messy when wet.  To make the track safe for all weather use, we put down a layer of gravel to provide traction.  The only way to get gravel down to the end of the track is to carry it down, one bucket at a time.

We loaded up buckets down near the car park.

The buckets were loaded onto the ute and driven up to the end of the track.

We then unloaded the buckets and carried them down to the far end of the track.

At the end of the track, the buckets were dumped out and the gravel was raked smooth.

Empty buckets were carried back so they could be refilled for the next load.

And another load was brought down.

The result is a fantastic looking walking track.  Future teams will finish off the metaling and the track will be ready for year round use.

We then picked up all the tools and equipment and headed back to the nursery and the team helped organize all the spare wood, clean up the gear and put it away.

It was then time for a relaxing late lunch and socialising.

A BIG thank you to our good friend Alan for taking the time to come out and work with the team.  Alan your skills and ability have greatly added to the quality of the tracks and we look forward to having you back again soon.

A special thank you to Allan for his continuing support and championing CUE Haven at ANZ and bringing his Business Banking team out again.

Also our many thanks to Linda for all her help with organizing and coordinating for the team visit.

And of course a HUGE thank you to all members of the very hardworking team.  We very much enjoyed working with you.  We truly appreciate your hard work and everything you accomplished.  It was a pleasure watching the teamwork and creativity you showed in coming up with solutions to the challenges.  You have made a huge contribution to the CUE Haven walking tracks and your work will be enjoyed by visitors for years to come.

We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did and we look forward to having you back with your family and friends for a more leisurely visit. And back again next year for another fun volunteer day.

And finally another very special thank you to Jean, Rajmita and the team from ANZ Auckland Institutional Banking, Treasury department.  Jean and Rajmita joined us today for lunch to deliver a special gift.

Earlier in February, Jean had brought a team out to CUE Haven for a volunteer day and then submitted a story on their volunteering experience to ANZ’s Paint New Zealand Blue 2019 campaign – which encourages all staff to volunteer in the community.  Jean’s story won a spot prize during the first week of the campaign and Jean’s team very generously decided to donate the prize money to CUE Haven!! Wow! Thank you so much!

As a charitable trust, CUE Haven relies on the generosity of individuals and organisations for financial support for development and maintenance of the community native reserve.  We will use these funds towards the costs of maintaining the tracks that the ANZ teams have helped construct this summer. ANZ professionals have been helping out for the past seven years with various tasks and have contributed greatly to the development of CUE Haven and we really appreciate their friendship and ongoing support.  We very much value our relationship with ANZ and look forward to our developing partnership.

Thank you!! Thank you!!