Spark is New Zealand’s leading digital services provider and one of New Zealand’s largest companies.   Since 2012, Spark employees have been coming to CUE Haven for their staff volunteer days and have made major contributions to our walking track network.  Over the years, the team has grown to include Spark alumni, family and friends and it is always great to see old friends and meet new people.

The group arrived first thing in the morning and included Chris, Dawson, Gihal, Letty, Paul, Peter, Philip, Jo, Keerthi, Kyle S., Kyle W., Luke B., Luke S., Mark, Martin, Neil, Rochelle, Stephane, Steve, Sudanshu, Vishal and Wendell.

We spent time catching up and getting acquainted over morning tea.  Most of the team had been to CUE Haven before, so Mahrukh gave a very quick overview of the history of the project and future plans for the new people.  Thomas then gave a safety briefing and a description of the work planned for the day.

Normally at this time of year we would be doing spring cleanup and maintenance work to get ready for summer visitors.  However, for the past two years a series of climate events have caused several issues with the CUE Haven infrastructure.  Because most of the team have volunteered at CUE Haven for several years and know the place well, we were confident that they would be able to tackle some of these challenges.  The group broke into smaller teams.  Some would work on issues in the wetlands and the others would work on some walking track remediation.

Wetlands Bridge

The boardwalk in the wetlands crosses the stream at two points and in 2014 when the boardwalk was built, we constructed bridges over both those sections.  After the heavy rain events we’ve had, silt coming down from the farms upstream has clogged the area under the bridge.  The result is that the stream has found a new course along the side of the boardwalk.  Aside from impacting the wetlands further downstream this also has the effect of undermining the boardwalk as the stream flows along the support structure.

We requested the team to come up with a solution to see if we could restore the stream route.

They studied the situation and quickly ruled out digging out the silt along that length of the boardwalk.

They decided that the best approach would be to remove a section of the bridge and build it up to enable the water to flow underneath and follow its original course.  The first step was to find the supporting posts and remove some of the top boards to allow them access to the timber frames.  Once the frames were exposed, they could cut out the section.

After the section was removed, they could study the area and determine the best way to divert the water flow back to the wetlands.  They found a good route and dug a deep ditch to channel the water away.

And right away the water started flowing along the channel and further into the wetland!

The next step was to determine the best way to construct the replacement section.

They brought down some timber to build a frame for the new sections and installed them.

They built up the new framework.

Once the frame was in place, the team broke for lunch.

After lunch, a few others joined this team to finish off the bridge. Once the new framework was secured, they could measure and cut the top boards.

The top boards were installed and the team had the excellent idea to screw them down rather than use nails so that we can easily remove them to access the area under the bridge if any issues arise in the future.

They also installed new mesh to help traction in wet weather.

And they gave the bridge an all important test!

The new bridge section is an amazing accomplishment and a valuable step in our climate resilience work.  In addition to the hard work involved, the team also showed a lot of creativity in coming up with solutions to several challenges and also minimized the use of timber by reusing as much of the old bridge section as they could. A huge thank you to the team for their efforts.

Boardwalk Cleanup

Another team went to work clearing up the rest of the boardwalk.  In addition to vegetation washed over the surface by the diverted stream, a lot of flax and other wetland plants had grown over the boardwalk.  The team went to work with loppers, secateurs and flax cutters and cleared the entire boardwalk.

They also did some weeding, removing morning glory vines which grow up on the trees this time of year.

And swept up!

Thanks to the team’s efforts, the boardwalk is looking great for the summer.

Titoki Track Relocation and Repair

One of the biggest weather issues we’ve been dealing with is with the stream at the junction of the Taraire and the Titoki tracks.  In 2015 we built a bridge over what at that point was a quiet and narrow section of the stream.  The behaviour of the stream has changed due to the amount of water coming down the catchment and the channel has gotten wider since the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Day storms. Then last winter, the bridge collapsed because the supports were undermined after another heavy rain storm.  We relocated the bridge further upstream and did some remediation work on the affected area of the Titoki track, moving it farther back from the stream and installing a railing.

Unfortunately, another heavy rainstorm in June this winter caused even more erosion and further damaged the track.

After that event, we decided that the best long term approach would be to reroute the Titoki track to higher ground away from the stream and any future issues.  Two teams this spring made a start on the new track section and today’s team worked on finishing it off.

The first task was levelling off the new track surface.

And finishing off installation of side boards.

The route up to the higher track section required the installation of steps and the team worked on installing risers and side boards.

The new track section is looking great!

Some of the team members then had a look at the stream to see if they could find out what was causing the erosion.

They found that a downed Ti Kouka tree was blocking a section of the stream and that a lot of vegetation and debris was also clogging the waterway and causing the backup.

They cleared out the stream and then went to work on the tree trunk.

They found a couple of small eels exploring the area as well.

They relocated them downstream away from the work area.

And continued removing sections of the tree.

The trunk and root ball created the biggest challenge, but the team worked together to move it.

It was really hard and messy work but the team managed to clear the entire stream bed and restore the flow.  We hope this will prevent any future damage from heavy rains. A huge thank you to Kyle S., Neil, Luke, S., Mark and Steve for taking on this challenge.

The next step was to build some fencing to direct visitors to the new track section and prevent anyone from venturing into the slip area.  Using timber from the damaged sections of fencing, they built fences at each end of the new track.

The first task was to dig holes for the upright posts.

The posts were secured in place and checked for alignment.

They then cut the boards for the cross beams.

The cross beams were nailed in place.

They levelled off the uprights for a nice professional finish.

Thanks to the efforts of the track and stream remediation team, the Titoki track is ready for summer visitors. Relocating this track to higher ground represents major progress on our work toward climate resilience.

Track Cleanup

As with the boardwalk, over the winter and spring a lot of vegetation has grown over the tracks and there are also a lot of leaves and branches on the track surface.  Another team worked to clear the Titoki and Taraire tracks using loppers and rakes.

The team found a bench along the track on which the top layer of timber was rotting away leaving exposed nails.  They cleared away the bad timber and removed the old nails making the bench comfortable again.

They then moved farther up the track to repair some areas which had been damage by heavy rain.

And they also repaired a damaged sign.

Thanks to the team’s efforts, the Titoki and Taraire tracks were cleared and fixed and are looking better than ever!

In the meantime, long time Spark volunteer Martin brought along his professional trimmer which enables him to reach high spots.  He kindly walked the roads and trimmed back overhanging vegetation.

Track Metalling

The last bit of track work involved putting a layer of gravel down on the new track sections as well as the areas that had been cleaned up.  The entire track team got together to help out. 

We went up to the metal pile and filled buckets.

The buckets were then carried down to the work area.

The gravel was then dumped on the track and raked smooth.

The empty buckets were taken back for another load.

The result of all the hard work is amazing—a huge thank you to the entire team.

Sign Relocation

Throughout the CUE Haven reserve there are a number of signs with information about birds, plants and animals, as well as directional and inspirational signs.  Many years ago we had installed a sign about the tui bird near the cottage because there is a lot of harakeke and tuis flock to the flowers in summer.  The flaxes have grown up and are obscuring the sign and we requested the boardwalk trimming team to help relocate it to a more visible site.

The first task was getting the old sign out.

Paul then took on the challenge of digging a new post hole in the rocky ground.

The post was installed and checked for alignment.

The last step was reattaching the sign.

The sign is now in a highly visible area—a big thank you to the team!

Although there was still some work to do on the wetlands bridge, we broke for a lunch break. Paul and Philip had brought cakes to celebrate Rochelle’s birthday and after lunch we had a short birthday ceremony and enjoyed the cakes as dessert.

It was a great addition to a fun and productive day—Happy Birthday Rochelle!

All the teams accomplished an amazing amount of really challenging work and should be very proud of everything they achieved.

It was great to see everyone working together to develop creative solutions to today’s challenges–everyone had great ideas and showed a lot of dedication to the work and the results are amazing. 

A big thank you to Paul for organizing the visit today and for continuing to champion CUE Haven at Spark and with his friends and former colleagues. And a big thank you to our very long term volunteer and Spark alumni, Steve, for bringing several of his new colleagues along today too. It was great seeing old friends again and meeting the new people joining the team.  We really enjoyed working with you all.  And a very special thank you to teenagers Kyle and Luke—you both were a fantastic addition to the team.

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone for their effort and hard work.  Your contribution and ongoing support is most valued.

We hope to see all of you back at CUE Haven both for another fun and productive volunteer day and, also for a relaxing visit with your friends and families to show them your wonderful handiwork as you explore more of CUE Haven.

Thank You!! Thank You!!