Today for the first time, a team from the ASB Product Pricing group joined us for a volunteer day and they helped with some walking track maintenance.  The group arrived first thing in the morning and included Clare, Connor, Dave, Julia, Matt, Mike and Tim.

Everyone was new to CUE Haven so Mahrukh spent some time telling them about the history of the project and plans for the future.

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

The initial plan was to do some walking track maintenance but because the weather forecast was for heavy rain all day, we had a backup plan for some indoor work.  The forecast turned out to be wrong (surprise!) so we went ahead with the track work.  It was overcast and sprinkled on and off all day, but the team carried on!

On a section of walking track near the top of the property, ground movement and wear and tear had moved the side boards out of alignment.  The original track had been benched along a slope and the weight of the upslope side was damaging the side boards on both sides of the track.

The team took some time to study the issues and come up with a plan to resolve them.

They determined that the best approach would be to remove the existing boards, fix any erosion problems and dig the boards deeper to provide greater stability.  They then broke into two teams and each team worked on different section of track.

The first step was using a string line to determine the proper alignment for the track.

They started by digging out the old boards.  In keeping with the CUE Haven ethos of sustainability, the team reused the old side boards where possible, so extra care was taken when dismantling the existing structure.

Once the out of line boards were removed, they used the string line to determine where to dig out channels for the boards.

Once the channels were dug out they could re-install the side boards.

The boards were held in place with pegs and nailed securely.

When one side of the track had been improved, they switched over to the other side to fix similar issues.  They again used the string line to ensure the track and side boards were straight.

And they checked to make sure the track sides were even and parallel.

Once the new boards had been re-installed, they cut off any extra lengths from the stakes.

The last step was to level out the track surface and backfill the newly reinstalled side boards.

They raked the track smooth and it is looking better than ever.

They also tackled a small project to clean up some steps that had been covered over with soil washed down during a rainstorm.

In just a few hours of hard work, the team made major improvements to the old track. It was challenging work in wet and cold conditions but the team kept smiling and came up with great solutions to the track challenges. After wrapping up the different tasks, they then packed up all the gear and headed back to the cottage for a relaxing lunch.

Our many thanks to Matt for organising the very productive day.

And a huge THANK YOU to the entire team.  We really enjoyed meeting you all and working with you and enjoyed many interesting conversations. You have all made a wonderful contribution to CUE Haven and all your hard work and efforts are very much appreciated.

We look forward to having you back out with your family and friends for a leisurely visit to explore of your community reserve -CUE Haven, and, also returning next year for another fun and productive volunteer day.

Thank You!! Thank You!!