18 March 2020

Mainfreight gives back to the community | March 2020

At our annual Branch Managers and Sales Conferences, our teams usually participate in team building activities. This year we decided to do something a bit different and give back to the community of Taupo. 

About The Organisations

We worked in conjunction with Greening Taupo and Bike Taupo to come up with these projects that will benefit both the environment and the community.

Greening Taupo is a collaborative project that to date has achieved great things. Their mission is to improve the environment for the people and the native wildlife in and around Taupo.

Bike Taupo is a cycling advocacy group who work alongside the council to encourage the people of Taupo to get out on their bikes. Through education, improvements to infrastructure and building awareness, their mission is to make Taupo the most cycle friendly town.

The Projects

The Branch Managers – New Bike Track on Wairakei Drive

How do you build a bike track you ask? With a few shovels and a couple of wheelbarrows, a tonne of tyres and a huge pile of dirt, and a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears! You can ask any of our branch managers and they will tell you it was no easy task. 

The team got stuck into building a retaining wall of tyres on the side of a bank, lifting the tyres up, filling the tyres with dirt making sure they were stable and starting the whole process again until they had a big flat track. It was an extremely physical job and in the height of the New Zealand summer, it was very hot and very dusty. Our determined team really got stuck into the job putting in the hard yards for 2 hours.

This was a great opportunity to get our branch managers together and prove how much you can achieve with teamwork and a lot of hard work.

The Sales Team – Laying Mulch on Wairakei Drive

This mission was like no other. We worked closely with Greening Taupo, their aim is to take conservation in Taupo to the next level.

Staring at large mounds of mulch on top of the bank, it would seem that the team had an enormous task ahead of them. With a bit of divide and conquer and a huge effort from the over 100-strong team, those mounds did not seem so daunting after all! After 2 hours of shovelling, wheelbarrowing, and bucketing 110 cubic metres of mulch, the team had managed to lay a 10cm thick layer over the bank on Wairakei Drive to improve the health of the soil and growth of the trees planted there,

This activity was all about supporting the Taupo Community and trying to preserve New Zealand’s environment for the next generation.

Nothing works as well as hard work

The teams at both Greening Taupo and Bike Taupo were so impressed with how much work our team got through in a short space of time. With an increasing focus on sustainability at Mainfreight, it was very special to be a part of this initiative. Thank you to these organisations for allowing us to be part of such rewarding experiences!