Colleagues including Atmos International’s CEO Jun Zhang from Atmos’ Costa Rican office were on hand recently to help a natural reserve, Reserva Forestal Grecia with a large recycling project
Located approximately an hour and a half from the Atmos offices in San Jose, the reserve covers approximately 26km2. Despite its size, the reserve has only six rangers to take care of the trails, facilities and wildlife. The reserve is a non-profit organization, relying on volunteers and support from the pubic. It attracts around 6,500 visitors each year and receives a lot of rainfall. As a result, trails wash out, deteriorating which can cause accidents. Drain ditches also need regular maintenance to help keep the trails safe.
Recycling for the Reserve
The Atmos team decided to lend a hand and help with a section called Bosque del Niño by helping to build new flower pots for local children to come and decorate them. These flower pots are made from old tyres encouraging recycling of what would be waste materials. Additionally, the team helped by maintaining 500 meters of drainage ditches. Atmos colleagues then got involved with leveling, clearing and cleaning over half-a-kilometer of trails.
CEO pitches in
It wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Over 15 bags were filled with soil ready for the planting of the flower pots project, as well as taking soil from the restored paths and cleared ditches. In total 17 Atmos colleagues rolled up their sleeves. Leading the team by example was Jun Zhang, the Atmos CEO who was raking, shoveling and carrying bags of soil from the start.
To the surprise of the rangers, within an hour all the bags were full. The rangers had expected the team to take a lot longer so quickly reassigned the team to new tasks to help the rangers make the park safer and accessible.
Time to refuel and relax
The rangers were extremely happy with the work done so far, telling the Atmos team that they are fast, efficient and hardworking - something that is no surprise to CEO Jun Zhang! As the team head home, they made a pit stop at a local restaurant where Jun can sample some local food. The team dug into Chifrijo with Jun sampling Casado with pork ribs. The day has been another great example of Atmos' teamwork. With the Costa Rican volunteers giving up their personal time to help another great project and the environment.