Alex Holton, Canopy Project Management principal and president, was stumped.
As the leader of the San Francisco-based firm, he was looking for ways to keep its workplace culture intact while many of his employees worked remotely.
Holton figured volunteer work was the best way to get his five-person team together and collaborate on something positive to help build camaraderie.
The project management firm spent a July day working with Friends of the Urban Forest, a nonprofit group that plants and maintains the city's trees and protects, appropriately enough, San Francisco's tree canopy.
"We did a lot of research on various volunteer organizations, but we had a hard time getting a chance that worked without some kind of pay-to-play situation, which was a little puzzling to me," Holton said in an interview. "Then one of my employees found Friends of the Urban Forest. As commercial real estate professionals in San Francisco, we're struggling with how to get people to want to be in the city again. This was a good opportunity that was good for the environment, good for San Francisco and good for all of us to get together and out on the street."
Canopy's team worked in the city's Bayview neighborhood, learning how to prune trees properly. This work, Holton said, created something of a full circle connecting him with his employees and the real estate and construction industry.
"I studied forestry in college and have always enjoyed being outdoors and in nature," he said. "We always try to bring that sustainability aspect to work. Construction is a wasteful industry, so I've always hoped that we could influence things to build as sustainably as possible."