Haworth Team Building Activity — Building Furniture for Local Eco-Learning Center

On June 30th, an enthusiastic team of volunteers from Haworth, an global award-winning furniture, interior architecture and technology solutions company,  participated in a team building activity at the Qingxi Country Park near Dianshan Lake, an hour's drive from Shanghai. This was not meant to be a typical corporate training session, but rather the aim was to support the local community and assist in the development of the Ecological Learning Center run by the Lakeside Art Community (LAC).

ABOUT LAC  (Lakeside Art Community)

The center serves as a learning hub for creating a connection between the visitors, and the pristine, biologically diverse Dianshan Lake special protected area. LAC, who runs another ecological and cultural center in Qingpu district, is working with the Qingxi Country Park to engage people in eco-friendly activities, share knowledge about the local eco-system and connect city dwellers to nature through this beautiful landscape, which has been preserved from Shanghai’s rapid urbanization.

Qingxi Country Park is a protected area with DaLian Lake at its core, protected by WWF as one of their wetland restoration pilot projects. It is one of the water bodies that feed into the Huangpu River, providing drinking water for citizens of Shanghai.

Qingxi Park's water forest & birds habitat

ABOUT HAWORTH

Haworth is a global company that designs and manufacturers workplace furniture, interior architecture and technology solutions. Environmental protection and local community engagement is a part of their core business values and practiced across all of their office locations globally.

The Asia Pacific Global Accounts team from Haworth were due to visit Shanghai for internal meetings from various global offices and made it a point to engage in activities that support the local community and the ecosystem.

THE EVENT

Starting with piles of wood, a box of tools and a brainstorming discussion, the team brought forward their creative ideas for the space and went on to build a complete set of picnic tables and benches. Working with the local village carpenters, their enthusiasm and sincerity brought a whole new level of energy and positive into the empty space.

Apart from ideas and designs on how to design the space, they also learnt new carpentry techniques: like sawing wood at different angles and fixing beams to provide stability to the table and benches. The team supported each other to cut materials and affix nails and screws with accuracy, leaving the local carpenters impressed with their attention to detail. It was a great team building activity - which was one of the reasons for the team to engage in this important project.

“The carpenter Shifu can make two sets of furniture like this in a single day all by himself, while the entire volunteer team together made just one set. Well, that’s why he is called Shifu (master).”

“Thank you very much for organizing this event. It was a great experience for all of us to be a part of the community and do something good for them. We wish Green Initiatives good luck for all their ongoing and future projects and hope to work together again!”

The table and bench designed and built by Haworth team

A big thank you to the Haworth Global Account Management (GAM) team for their time and energy in contributing to the local community in Dianshan Lake.

Nothing beats a cold beer after a tired yet a very fulfilling day!

If you are interested in conducting similar team building activities or willing to support the Dianshan Lakeside Art Community (LAC), please write to us at info@greeninitiatives.cn.