Fonterra—28 May 2019

Fonterra, one of the world’s largest dairy companies, is taking a very proactive approach to environmental remediation of the impact of dairying.  They lead initiatives to fence wetlands, do riparian planting and improve farm environmental planning and practices.  When CUE Haven was a dairy farm, it was part of the Fonterra co-op.

Fonterra staff at all levels are also involved in helping out in the community and with environmental projects and we are very happy to have Fonterra’s support with our restoration efforts.  Today we had a team of Fonterra staff from the Logistics group out to assist with planting canopy trees.

The group arrived at about 8:30 and included Bendito, Dennis, Joy, Kathy, Parmod, Rebekah, Rekha, Sophie, Vardeep and Yasith.

We spent some time getting acquainted over morning tea and then Mahrukh gave a short talk about the history of CUE Haven and plans for the future.

Thomas then talked about the work planned for the day and gave a safety briefing.

The weather forecast was not at all promising.  It had rained overnight and the forecast was for more rain and thunder all morning.  It rained during morning tea but as we went to work the sun came out.

Today’s planting was special in that it involved not only infill planting of canopy seedlings, but we also planted ten much larger trees on behalf of a supporter who is establishing a grove of memorial trees for her family.

We drove up to the planting site where Thomas gave a planting demo and a safety reminder and the team went to work.

Sometimes it was a challenge to find a good spot to plant amongst the thick pioneer plantings, but the group wasn’t afraid to go deep into the bush to find good spots.

After a few hours of hard work, the team managed to plant all of the trees we had allocated for them.  Well done!!

Just prior to lunch, Pat, one of CUE Haven’s much valued donors and supporters arrived.  Pat is establishing a grove of rimu, miro, matai, taraire and puriri trees in memory of her departed loved ones. All team members helped plant these trees which are much bigger in size.  It is thanks to the generosity and support of donors that we are able to purchase the canopy trees and get the native forest giants established faster. Thank you Pat for your continued support!!

The group then brought back all the empty crates and pots and loaded them in the ute and we all took a leisurely walk back to the cottage.

We then relaxed and socialized over a late lunch.

It was a very enjoyable and productive day and the hard working and enthusiastic team managed to get done with all the planting we hoped they would do.

A special thanks to Kelly for organizing the team visit today and for handling all the logistics. Kelly could not join the team today but we very much look forward to having you out with your other colleagues soon.

And a HUGE thank you to everyone on the team.  We so enjoyed meeting you all and working with you and getting to know you.  We hope that you enjoyed the day as much as we did.  We really appreciate your hard work and also helping out with Pat’s plantings.

We hope you will come back often over the years to see how the trees you planted today are growing up.  And we look forward to having you back next year for another fun and productive volunteer day.

You have all made a significant contribution to  your community native reserve – CUE Haven, and our planet.  The long living canopy trees you planted today will be home to native birds and animals, and will also be enjoyed by many generations of visitors to CUE Haven. What a lasting legacy!

Thank You!! Thank You!!