NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company.  They work with businesses in gathering and analysing data to improve understanding of consumer behaviour. 

NIQ Auckland office staff have been coming the past three years for volunteering and team building at CUE Haven and we were delighted to welcome them again today.

The team arrived first thing in the morning and included Akansha, Iain, Lance, Mark, Phil, Shaun, Travis and Yaroslav.

Many of the team members had been to CUE Haven before so we spent some time catching up over morning tea and Mahrukh gave an overview of our current activities and plans.  Thomas then gave a safety briefing and a description of the work planned for the day.

The plan for the day was to break into two teams and do some road and track improvements to deal with issues arising from heavy rains.  We had a washout on one of the tracks due to a blocked drain and in another part of the track had become very muddy because of an unusual amount of water seeping from the wetlands.

At the point where the Puriri and Manuka tracks meet, there is a steep section and a drainage pipe is buried under the Manuka track to carry runoff water down to the wetlands.  During a recent heavy rain storm, the drain was blocked and water flowed over the Puriri track, washing away a lot of gravel and causing ruts. One team took on the task of clearing the drain and repairing the damage.

They started out by inspecting the area and the Shaun and Yaro took on the job of clearing the drain.

They found that leaves and clay had blocked the pipe causing the overflow and went to work clearing the pipe and checking to make sure there were no blockages.

They also studied the drainage channel and found some other issue which they corrected.

Akansha and Travis took on the challenge of repairing the track.  They used rakes and spades to fill in the washout gullies and recovered washed away gravel.

Once the major issue was cleared up, all four in this team continued up the track, clearing other drains and checking for issues.

It was very hard work but the team worked together to check the track and think about improvements and did a great job fixing issues along a huge section the CUE Haven track network. The team have made a major contribution getting us ready for any winter weather events.

The second team of Iain, Lance, Mark and Phil, worked on constructing a boardwalk over a section of track by Piriti Maharanoa that had become very muddy due to the water flow in the area altering over the years. 

They studied the area and decided that the first step was to install a center support board for the top timbers.

The new board was cut to size and fitted in place.

They then test fitted a top board to ensure that the new boardwalk would be level and found that due to ground movement, the side support boards were misaligned.

To fix the issue, they cut and installed wedges to make the sides even.

They repeated the process at the other end where the new boardwalk would join the existing walking track.

They installed a new side board on one side to ensure everything would be level and secure.

They calculated the number of top boards needed and cut them to size.

The next step was to test fit all of the top boards to make sure everything was level.

They then went to work nailing the top boards in place.

The last step was to install a layer of mesh to assist with traction when the boards are wet.

As a final step, they installed a trim board at the end of the new boardwalk—a nice professional touch!

The bridge extension is a great improvement to the CUE Haven walking track network as it solves a long term issue which made the track messy and muddy all year round.  It was great team work and they should be proud of their efforts.

Both teams finished up about the same time and the last task was to relocate some benches.

We also brought down all of the gear and cleaned up and put everything away and before relaxing over lunch.

Today was a fun and very productive day and we really enjoyed working with everyone and also enjoyed many interesting conversations.

A big thank you to Phil for organising the day and for continuing to champion CUE Haven at NIQ.

And many many thanks to everyone for working so hard. We really appreciate your help. You all accomplished a lot and have made a major contribution to CUE Haven.

We very much look forward to your continued support and to seeing all of you again next year for another productive volunteer day. And hoping you will be back in spring /summer with your family to explore more of your community native reserve and show them your contribution to CUE Haven.

Thank You!! Thank You!!