The BaumInvest Blog
Supervisory Board visit to Costa Rica
We focus on transparency and communication. This also includes the annual visit of the supervisory board on site in Costa Rica. Supervisory board members Ursula Sydow and Gudrun Welsch travelled to Costa Rica at the end of last year to visit BaumInvest’s reforestation projects and fincas.
What they experienced, what amazed them and whether their commitment was strengthened by the visit – they report on it here in an interview.
Supervisory Board visit to Costa Rica
We focus on transparency and communication. This also includes the annual visit of the supervisory board on site in Costa Rica. Supervisory board members Ursula Sydow and Gudrun Welsch travelled to Costa Rica at the end of last year to visit BaumInvest’s reforestation projects and fincas.
What they experienced, what amazed them and whether their commitment was strengthened by the visit – they report on it here in an interview.
Besuch auf der Finca La Virgen und San rafael
Gudrun und Ursula, wart ihr zum ersten Mal in Costa Rica?
Ursula Sydow: Ja, wir waren beide zum ersten Mal in Costa Rica und konnten die Projekte von BaumInvest hautnah und live vor Ort erleben.
Wie war euer erster Eindruck als ihr die Aufforstungsprojekte besucht habt?
Gudrun Welsch: When we visited the Finca La Virgen, I was impressed by the naturalness of the forest. I had to ask our companions three times whether this was our reforested forest or the original forest. The canopy is closed and the forest radiated an enormous liveliness, even though the afforestation was done just over a decade ago.
I was also very impressed by the visit to the NFCP trail at Finca La Virgen. What the staff there have achieved is remarkable. They have laid slabs on the path through our natural forest and even built railings in some places. Explanatory boards inform about the importance of the natural forest and the reforestation of near-natural mixed forests.
This gives a good impression of the goals of BaumInvest and the individual projects. If shareholders or interested parties walk this path, it is certainly the best advertisement for the company.
Ursula Sydow: I was also very impressed by the size and diversity of our trees on the Finca San Rafael. So far, we knew the BaumInvest projects from pictures, figures and reports. But on site you get a better idea of the dimensions. You experience with your own eyes how much work, know-how and organisational effort is required to make these forests as natural as possible and at the same time optimise their growth. During our visits, we were given comprehensive answers to numerous questions about forest management and maintenance.
Gudrun Welsch: The trip to Costa Rica also helped to experience the whole structure in practice for once – and not just to read about it on paper. This made it easier to anchor the structure in our minds.
Visit of the new areas in Guatuso and Los Chiles
Of course, you also have had a visit to BaumInvest’s latest reforestation project. As part of the first company carbon forest, over 1000 hectares of former pasture land were reforested within one year. What impressed you the most?
Ursula Sydow: At the Guatuso and Los Chiles sites, we have been able to experience the progress of our brand new reforestation for near-natural mixed forests, specifically designed to store carbon, which have been planted on large areas in recent months. We were particularly impressed by the planting concept. Here, individual planting nests are cultivated with a well thought-out mix of site-adapted seeds and seedlings to create optimal growing conditions for the future trees. It is impressive how a supplementary vegetation develops protectively around the small tree seedlings and saplings, which – without the use of chemical pesticides – protects them from pests, provides them with nutrients and gives them shade. And it was exactly such a planting nest that we were allowed to create ourselves during our tour of the reforestation areas in Guatuso. It was then that we really became aware of the complexity of the planting concept. After we had tilled the soil and prepared it sufficiently, we planted about 5-10 different types of seeds in exactly the right number, depth and arrangement according to the instructions. With this new planting concept, BaumInvest is treading new and very promising paths that can serve as a model for near-natural, site-adapted reforestation in the region.
Ursula Sydow gets down to work – digging for a planting nest
Gudrun Welsch creating a planting nest
Conclusion of the trip
You experienced an intensive week in Costa Rica: with many visits, impressions, discussions and extensive exchange. Did this trip strengthen your commitment to BaumInvest?
Ursula Sydow: We were both convinced of BaumInvest AG and its vision even before the trip. The trip was important for us because we were able to get to know the team on site, to experience how much expertise comes together there and with how much enthusiasm and conviction the individual employees go about their work.
Gudrun Welsch: The high level of professionalism really runs through all the ranks. That is a good basis, also with a view to the future: that there are people working in Germany as well as in Costa Rica who meet in their know-how, who are in good dialogue, who value each other, and who each contribute their own strengths in a targeted way. It was heart-warming to see the foresters, for example, with how much pride they guided us through the forests. They identify with BaumInvest and stand behind their work.
Ursula Sydow: The trip showed us in many places how innovatively and broadly BaumInvest works, that they think a lot, research and implement ideas. As a small, growing company, BaumInvest is doing great things – and the company is very well positioned for the future.
With a tractor heading for the new areas
Aerial view of the new area “El Pato” in Guatuso
On-site visit to the new areas in Guatuso
Gudrun Welsch and Ursula Sydow, both 64, have been on the BaumInvest AG supervisory board since 2019. Gudrun Welsch worked for many years in quality management at a car manufacturer, Ursula Sydow was a teacher of biology and mathematics at grammar schools in Germany and abroad.
These articles might also interest you:
Shareholder visit in Costa Rica
Just recently, our Costa Rican NFCP path was visited by a shareholder family who wanted to get a first-hand impression of our forests.
Expansion to Colombia
“With our expansion into South America, we are opening a new chapter in the company’s history,” says BaumInvest CEO Antje Virkus.
Reforestation with added value
Biologist Joseph Vargas Alvarez visited the new plots of BaumInvest AG and conducted a biodiversity inventory.
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