Do you know that feeling? When you leave a building you always turn right, towards the bus or the bicycle rack. But what happens if, for a change, you once turn left?

 

That's exactly what we did at ICO-LUX for our traditional summer team event: we took a different turn. And ended up in the forest.

 

For our team event, Franzi from the Jena City Forestry picked us up – 16 employees and their families – right at the office one September afternoon. But then we turned left instead of the usual way, trudged up the steep hill on the left and, after just a few metres of climbing, enjoyed a completely new view of our city.

On our adventure hike, we learned that a third of Jena city area is covered by forest.

We learned to distinguish poisonous plants from edible ones.

We picked wild apples and cornel cherries

 

And we discovered that we are not the only ones who snack on this late summer fruit rich in vitamin C...

Bright pink droppings in the gravel? Cornel cherry remains in raccoon poo!

 

We also discovered deer and dog tracks in the clay soil, stroked goats and – given the occasion – practised how to behave in nature during a thunderstorm (spoiler: meadows with power lines, forests, individual oak trees, beech trees, indeed all trees and, of course, lakes and rivers are taboo).

 

For the rest of the day, we returned to the newly renovated Waldvilla at forum natura jenensis. There, chef Marcel treated us to culinary delights, we watched the premiere of our new image film about the villain Freddy Fraudster and played with new technology and old classics.

 

And then? We ventured out with headlamps, torches and a dose of courage (raccoon gangs! fox families!) through the darkness back to the urban valley.

 

What remains of a team day off?

• The realisation that turning left is a good idea.
• That forest bathing is neither bathing in a forest lake nor esoterically hugging trees, but rather consciously spending time in the forest.
• That carefully grilled vegan antipasti tastes 20 times more intense than what you usually get served in the antipasti game.
• That we are a team – which is no longer so small – full of exciting, clever, likeable people who get along with each other quite well even outside of work.
   

Curious? Read more about our products ICO.Match, ICO.Fraud and ICO.Link or follow us on LinkedIn!

Photo: Jan Franke für ICO-LUX