PwC is one of the world’s largest professional services firms and today a group of tax professionals from PwC’s Auckland office once again came to CUE Haven and helped out with some interesting walking track improvement challenges.

The group arrived first thing in the morning and included Angelina, Clarissa, Eshath, Jonathan, Kirana, Letisha, Matt M., Matt N., Ramon and Samuel. 

We got acquainted over morning tea and Mahrukh took some time to explain the history of the CUE Haven restoration project and future plans.

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

The plan for the day was to continue our spring walking track maintenance work.  Because of the size of the group, we broke into three teams and tackled three different track challenges.

We walked out to the work site and Thomas explained the issues to be addressed. 

The teams then carried the gear out to the work sites and went to work.

The first team worked on improving a section of track that had been badly damaged during last year’s storms.  Work had been done to correct most of the issues, but ground movement and erosion had caused some side boards and steps to move out of alignment.  The team studied the issues along a long section of track and came up with solutions.

They moved along the track, making small and large improvements.  They fixed sections where several side boards had moved out of alignment. 

They dug out the old boards, which had been pegged and nailed in place.

Once the old boards were removed, they used a string line to determine the correct alignment of the track section.

The pegs and board were then realigned and nailed in place.

This and several other sections of the track are looking better than ever thanks to the efforts of this team.

A second team worked on fixing an ongoing issue at one end of Piriti Maharanoa (the bridge over the wetland stream).  Heavy rain last year caused the stream to overflow and resulted in creating channels which were sending water across the track approaching the bridge. We requested the team to fully study how the water was flowing and to determine what could be done to direct it away from the track and under the bridge.

The team checked out conditions upstream to see where the best place to channel the water flow would be and went to work doing some messy digging.

The team managed to dig out a new channel which is already diverting water from the track.

Once they finished the bridge work, the team carried on up the track, fixing a variety of issues from erosion to side boards which had moved out of alignment.

The team finished fixing a long section of track and made some major improvements.

The third team worked on an unusual challenge.  Last year we relocated a bench to Wahi Mohiotanga, a place where we often bring school groups on nature walks and spend some time talking about how everything in nature is interconnected. 

The ground in the area where we wanted to put the bench slopes downward, creating a challenge in how to best orient the bench.  We requested the team to come up with a plan to level the area to make access to the bench convenient.

They took some time to study the situation and discuss alternative solutions. When we initially relocated the bench, the foundation holes weren’t fully dug out, so as a first step, they increased the width and depth of the holes to level out the bench.

They tested out the bench positioning.

They determined that some of the leg sections needed to be shortened and took turns with the challenging sawing job.

They put the bench back in place and made sure the sections were level. They then decided that the best solution would be to create a step up to the bench which would both deal with the ground slope and also provide a level approach to the bench.

They measured the timber needed and cut it to size.

They test fitted the sections.

They installed support blocks for the steps and nailed everything into place.

Their careful measuring and sawing paid off with a nice mitre joint at the corner.

They finished nailing everything together.

The team’s solution is both practical and looks good. 

Before lunch, all of the teams got together to finish off the track sections they’d worked on by putting down a layer of gravel.

We filled buckets with gravel and drove them as close as we could to the track sections.

The buckets were then carried to the track sections, emptied and the gravel raked smooth.

Thanks to the teams’ hard work, the tracks are looking better than ever and ready for visitors.

The group then gathered up all the gear and brought it back to the work shed before enjoying a late lunch.

The teams accomplished a lot of work and visitors will very much appreciate their efforts as they explore CUE Haven.

A big thank you to Samuel for organising the day. It was great having you back with a new team and we really appreciate your continued support.

And a huge THANK YOU to everyone for all your hard work.  We so appreciate all of your good ideas and efforts.  The work you accomplished today exceeded expectations and you have all made a very valuable contribution to CUE Haven.

We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did. We enjoyed meeting everyone and the many interesting conversations.  We very much look forward to having you all back for another volunteer day and also out for leisurely visits with your family and friends to explore more of your community nature reserve.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!