In 2020 the CUE Haven Community Trust built a viewing platform overlooking the Kaipara Harbour and Fortress donated a variety of screws and fasteners to the project.
CUE Haven is the vision of Aucklanders Thomas & Mahrukh Stazyk, who bought the 24+ hectare property in 2003 with the intention of building a retreat where individuals would come together to share ideas and learn from each other.
C-U-E stands for Cultivating Understanding and Enlightenment.
However, concerned about the effect of grazing on the water quality and the lack of public native bush reserves in fast growing Auckland, they decided instead to restore the farm into a native nature reserve for the community to use and enjoy into perpetuity.
Since 2008, over 4,500 volunteers have planted over 170,000 native trees and built over 3.5 km of walking tracks. In 2017, the revegetated property was gifted to the CUE Haven Community Trust – a NZ registered charity.
The viewing platform was designed as a thesis by a Masters in architecture student at Unitec and several companies, including Fortress, donated materials and engineering services for the construction. And a fundraising campaign had people from the community in NZ and overseas generously donate towards the building expenses. The front and back of the platform are decorated with carvings done by a Unitec architecture student and tell the story of CUE Haven and the viewing platform project. One panel includes the logos of the organisations who helped with the project and the Fortress logo is prominently included.
Te Rite o Taranaki - the official name of the viewing platform - had a formal Opening Day Ceremony and Blessing on Friday, December 11th, 2020.
The viewing platform is an amazing work of architectural and engineering design which will last for several generations and provide visitors another reason to trek up to the top through the emerging native forest at CUE Haven. Areas have been leveled out for seating and there are benches for visitors to relax after their long climb up hill to the viewing platform, and the area around the platform has been landscaped.
CUE Haven is an excellent example of individuals, government and the private sectors all working together for the common good to create something special for generations to enjoy. For more information see www.cuehaven.com
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