Our colleagues helping to preserve the Peszéri forest in Hungary | CSR

It is now a tradition that the team of Accace Hungary spends a day of the regular team building project in September in the spirit of Corporate Social Responsibility.

As usual, we tried to find a great cause we can stand behind as a company, and our Colleagues can help the environment with their bare hands.

This year’s main Corporate Social Responsibility project aimed to eliminate invasive species in the Peszéri Forest, which is part of the Kiskunsági National Park. With the help of Dr. Csaba Vadász and his team, we learned a lot about the protected plant species in the forest and why it is important to suppress invasive species in order to maintain the forest’s natural biodiversity and the “services” the forest provides for the ecosystem.

After nearly half a day of hard work, we became acquainted with the natural system (ecosystem) and with the general threats against the survival of the biodiversity, which is caused by the invasive species that are one of the most significant threats both globally and in Hungary. These invasive species can displace native plant species by expanding and multiplying. Some invasive species (such as the idol tree) produce substances that inhibit the germination or growth of other plants, while other species have strong shading or water suction effect. The seriousness of the problem is well illustrated by the fact that the negative impacts of invasive species can be compared to those of climate change and pollution.

The main task of our Colleagues was to give a helping hand to suppress the invasive wood species in the Peszéri Forest. Although this forest is one of the best preserved and species richest sand steppe habitat complex in Hungary, the problems that threaten the preservation of biodiversity are also present there. The four most massive invasive tree species in the Peszéri Forest are the idol tree, the western whip tree, the late sour cherry tree and the green maple. Dr. Vadász and his team quickly demonstrated why and how to remove the seedlings of these species. Thanks to the hard work of our Colleagues, we managed to remove 30,960 individuals to maintain the biodiversity of the Peszéri Forest.

After hard work, the well-deserved rest followed in the form of a hearty dinner with pleasant wines and beers and the great company of our Colleagues. Two DJs made sure that we all had a great time, while they were exercising both our legs and brains with a fun a music quiz and other games. The indispensable part of the evening was the karaoke competition, where each team had to perform two different songs, further enhancing the good mood.

We were not bored between the breakfast of the next morning and the trip home, as we had to conduct a full investigation in our assigned groups. According to the story of the game, a murder took place at the hotel and our teams had to gather the most evidence possible against 6 suspects at various locations of the property, and of course we could interrogate the suspects as well. At the end of the game, we had to collate all the information we gathered and, with the help of ’police’, we had to reveal the killer’s identity, find the motive and outline the entire story of the crime.

Pictures of the one and half day program can be seen below, which faithfully reflect the hard work of the first day and the fun programs that followed. We are proud to announce that the Team Building and CSR project has brought even closely our already great community of Accace Hungary.