Nestlé New Zealand—14 October 2022

Nestlé has a strong commitment to community service and over the years, a number of their staff from their NZ offices have made significant contributions to CUE Haven. 

Today a group of Nestle staff spent a wet and drizzly spring day at CUE Haven helping us with some walking track improvements.

The team included Amelia, Amena, Anna, Helen, Jennifer, Keely, Margaux, Olivia, Roy, Sakina, Tasia and Yorn.  Also joining us for the day was our veteran volunteer Luke. Luke works with Spark but was not able to join the Spark team last week, so he kindly offered to spend his volunteer day with us today.  Also, Josephine, who drove the Auckland based Nestle staff out in the Bayes Coachlines bus, rolled up her sleeves to help out too!

The long distance award for the day goes to Roy who drove up all the way from Cambridge where he is based.

Most of the Nestlé team were new to CUE Haven so we spent some time getting acquainted over morning tea and then Mahrukh gave an overview of the project and described the current activities and future plans.

The first task was installing the end support post.

He then measured and cut the top rail.

And the railing was nailed in place.

The finished off railing is a great addition to the boardwalk that visitors will definitely appreciate.

Luke then joined the Nestlé team and we headed up to the work site.

The first task was to carry down all the gear.

We split the group into two teams, but both teams would be working in the same area.

One team worked on straightening and improving an old section of track by installing side boards.  The first task was planning the work.  They figured out the desired width and direction of the track and stretched a string as a guide.

The next task was a lot of digging to cut back the bank and level the track.

Once the track section was formed and the channel had been cut for the board, it was time to bring down the timber.

The board was cut to size and installed.

The board was fitted in place and then secured with pegs and nails.

The track area was levelled and smoothed to prepare it for a layer of gravel.

While one team worked on the track section, the other team worked on finishing off a platform we have been working on at the junction of the Riroriro, Titoki and Taraire tracks.  The structure had been completed, but we wanted to finish it off by levelling the ground and putting down a layer of gravel and then setting up some benches.  Luke had been involved in the earlier work on the platform and explained what had been done in the past and the objective for the day.

The work involved levelling off high spots and filling in low spots.  It was a tedious and messy job because of the on and off rain, but the team made good progress and kept smiling.

The next job was to put down a layer of gravel on the new walking track section and the platform.

We loaded up buckets of gravel.

The buckets were loaded onto the ute and driven to the entrance to the walking track.

The buckets were then carried down where the gravel was dumped on the track and platform and raked smooth.

The result is a fantastic improvement.  This is what the team accomplished on the walking track:

And the platform is quite transformed too.

Once the platform had been covered in small gravel, the team to brought up some benches from the work shed.

The benches were loaded on to the ute and driven up to the entrance to the track.

It was a challenge carrying the heavy benches down to the site.

Once on site, the benches were put in place and levelled off.

And tested for comfort.

A big thank you to the team for transforming the platform into a great outdoor classroom and rest area.

While the Nestlé team and Luke were in the field, Josephine helped us out by doing some weeding and sprucing up the area around the volunteer cottage.

Thanks Jo!  We really appreciate your hard work and getting on top of the weeds before they get established will make things a lot easier this summer.

Once the teams in the field were finished, we brought down all the gear and had a nice relaxing lunch.

It was great meeting the new team members and seeing old friends.

Many thanks to Nicholas for organising the Nestle volunteer day. Nick, sorry you couldn’t join us but look forward to having you out soon. 

And special thank you to Luke for once again coming to help out. Luke we really value your friendship and continued support.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out today!  We very much appreciate all your hard work and amazing contribution to CUE Haven. We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did and we very much look forward to having you out again for another fun and productive volunteer day.

And we also look forward to having you out with your friends and family for a leisurely visit soon to explore more of your community native forest reserve on a clear day so you can also enjoy the views of Kaipara Moana and the growing ngahere at CUE Haven.

Thank You!! Thank You!!