The Bench Builders

One of our goals at CUE Haven is to give visitors the chance to explore the bush at their own pace and spend time relaxing and enjoying being in nature.  To encourage this we are installing benches along the walking tracks so that people can have a seat and enjoy the ambience.

We developed a bench design plan and ordered the timber and materials required and lined up some volunteer carpenters to help us out.

Unfortunately, just as we submitted the timber order, the lockdown happened so not only did we lose our volunteers, the timber shipment was on hold.

As the restrictions eased, Yazdy and Xerxes who were in our extended bubble, came out and we built some benches out of leftover timber from the viewing platform project. 

The first challenge was to sort through the available timber and cut it to size.  We then assembled the benches by screwing the legs and bracing to the tops.

We also had some old patio furniture chairs that were badly weathered and we decided to rehabilitate them by replacing bad timber and reinforcing them.

We also made some benches using the leftover cladding boards from the viewing platform.

Despite the rain showers, we were anxious to see how the red and black benches would look on the platform so we took them up to Te Rite o Taranaki.

Definitely a good addition!

The timber was delivered at the end of October and we would like to thank Placemakers Westgate for their support and for being so accommodating on the delivery timetable.

The timber was unloaded in the car park and we wanted to bring the timber into the nursery so it would be out of the way and protected from the sun.  Yazdy and Xerxes came along to help out.  Our beekeeper, Richard, happened to be on site that day and offered to assist. Thanks Richard!!

Now that the timber was on site and we requested our dear friend, neighbour and regular volunteer, Alan, to help out. 

Alan came out on several days and we developed an assembly line churning out benches!  We used up the last of the leftover timber from the viewing platform project and then went on to build several standard benches using the new timber.

We went to work cutting out the pieces.

We then assembled the benches, screwing on the tops and braces.

We built a prototype of the sturdy new bench and were delighted how well it turned out.

We then went to work cutting timber into lengths for a supply of these benches.

Cutting the thick timber legs was a challenge.

Once we had cut the pieces for several benches we could focus on assembling them.

The number of benches to be deployed in the field quickly grew.  Fortunately, over the weekend some of our other young volunteers offered to come out and helped us carry them and set them along the tracks in the bush.

Xerxes enjoyed the woodwork so much, he volunteered to come out again to build some of the new benches.

And we also roped in another dear friend, our former neighbour Steve, to help out and put his engineering skills to work.

The benches will be a great addition to the CUE Haven reserve and will be much appreciated by visitors over the years.

Alan, Steve, Xerxes and Yazdy – thank you very much for all your help and hard work. We thoroughly enjoyed working with you and look forward to having you out with your families this summer to take a leisurely walk along the many tracks and rest on the nice benches you have built.

Many thanks again.