Ethical-Times-Spring-Newsletter-2014

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2,173 72,000
acres currently new trees planted
protected in our per week during
Forestry Easement peak season
Trust
Ethical Times
tm
Spring newsletter 2014
this issue...
Growing demand calls forongoing expansion
Costa Rica diary
After a successful 2013, thenew year brings with
it someexciting developments
Weve seen 2014 in with the same energy thatmade
last year such a success
Big plans underway
With demand for our investmentson the increase,
weve startedconstruction on our brand new HQ
Fact file
We introduce you to a rare treespecies protected
under ourForestry Easement Trust
Directors, Matthew Pickard and Robert
Brown, amongst 15-month-old Melina trees
Plantation spotlight
We explain what it takes to turnunused land into
a professional
Abraham Lincoln stated, Give me six hours to
chopdown a tree and I will spend the first four
sharpeningthe axe. Proper planning certainly
prevents poorperformance an adage we stick to
vehemently.
new San Carlos region Headquarters. Designed to
sitnaturally in the beautiful surroundings, this
is an excitingdevelopment and an important step
in accommodatingour ever-growing staff.
forestry plantation
Investors story
The impressive new building will also house our
salesdepartment, allowing them to showcase our
timberproducts to national and international
buyers.
As demand for our products continues to grow,
planningour expansion is as important as its
always been, and assuch, weve kept our foot on
the growth pedal. This meansgrowing our staff,
growing our operations, investing innew
machinery such as our new kiln and nursery
fans,and - of course - buying new plantations.
Investor, Brenda Lawson, explainswhy an ethical
investment in treessuits her lifestyle and
beliefs
Ever keen to meet new and existing investors,
well beattending exhibitions throughout the
year and will keepyou abreast of dates. Or, if
youd like to visit our UK orCosta Rica head
offices, wed be very pleased to oblige
Were currently reviewing many prospective sites,
which
Supporting our workers
- subject to our rigorous checks and processes -
showgreat potential. And once were satisfied
the land reachesour criteria, it will be
purchased using Stewart Land TitleGuarantee to
ensure the land is incontrovertibly ours.
- just give us a call.
See what some of our workers get upto in their
time off, and how were ableto support them in
their pursuits
We hope you enjoy this edition of Ethical Times,
which -as always - includes stunning wildlife
photography of ourprotected zones.
In this newsletter you can read about our most
recent
expansion project- the development of our brand
The Ethical Forestry team
Ethical Forestry Ltd, 80 Holdenhurst Road,
Bournemouth, Dorset, BH8 8AQ telephone [phone]
30 10 email enquiries_at_ethicalforestry.com
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Costa Rica diary
New plantations, new nursery infrastructure
annew headquarters - its a busy start to 2014
As ever, were pleased to welcome the new year in
with a flurry of activity.There are some
exciting developments in the pipeline, all of
which comeafter a successful 2013.
Our UK team regularly visit Costa Rica so they
can personally oversee ouroperations. Matthew
Pickard, Managing Director, headed up the last
visitin November 2013, during which he
experienced all our developmentsfirst-hand.
During his busy trip, Matthew managed to visit
every one of our plantations andas you can see
from the photographs, these are all fine examples
of the healthand growth of our investors trees.
In the bottom right photo opposite, youcan see
Matthew and our Costa Rica Director, Robert
Brown, standing next toan impressive 9-year-old
Teak tree, growing on our San Cristobal
plantation.
Matthew also visited our Workers Cooperative,
which he was pleased to seeis developing
rapidly. The cooperatives manager, Olivier
Gutierez Malespin,showed him the recent
harvests, which included lettuce, onions and
leeksto name but a few - all valuable
contributions towards a healthy and
self-sufficient food source for our workers.
Matthew says Every time I visit our operations
in Costa Rica Im met with suchlively and
positive activity. Its great to immerse myself
in the various facets,from walking around our
plantations to meeting our workers. Its
somethingI look forward to every trip, and Im
keen to see our new projects in full
swing next time I visit.
grow healthy and strong. Controlled air movement
is important tonursery plant growth because it
regulates temperature, avoids pocketsof
humidity, diffuses carbon dioxide and prevents
the development
Amongst a hubbub of activity, our nursery has
been fitted with new fans,which have been
installed to create the right environment for our
seeds to
Top Robert Brown tours ourRío Celeste
plantation withMatthew Pickard
Left Matthew Pickard sees howquickly our
Workers Cooperativehas grown
Right We photographed thisstunning Grey Hawk
(Buteo nitidus)on our Chimurria plantation -
justone of the many inhabitants
livingthroughout our plantationsBottom Our
nursery is fullyequipped with the latest
horticultural technology
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This stage of the investment is crucial,which
is why were continually investing inthe best
infrastructure, as well as ensuring
our expertise is on top of its game.
of airborne diseases. By controlling our
nurserys airflow in this way, were able
tomaintain an ideal environment for our
saplings. The images below show the
fansstrategically placed to achieve the best air
circulation.
Costa Rica Director, Robert Brown, says
Successfully growing seeds into saplingsthat
are strong enough to be field planted requires
not only knowledge, but alsoindustry-leading
equipment.
As part of our continual development, were
always exploring new plantation
acquisitions. One of our recent purchases is the
beautiful Santa Rita - a plantationof just over
1000 acres, 410 of which weve already placed
into our ForestryEasement Trust. Ex-cattle
grazing land, Santa Rita is a typical exampleof
how were able to turn pasture into healthy,
forested area. Whatsparticularly special about
Santa Rita is its impressive 200-acre area of
wildforest (pictured right), which is the
largest uninterrupted expanseof protected area
within our Forestry Easement Trust.
Whilst filming a piece on this fascinating plot,
our Director, Robert Brown,
was lucky enough to have a glass frog fall onto
his head - a tiny, translucentfrog not much
bigger than a thumb nail (pictured right).
As demand for our investments grow, so does our
workforce, which is why
2014 brings with it the development of a brand
new San Carlos region
Headquarters. Weve chosen to share the formative
stage of this project withinthis newsletter -
see overleaf for more details on this exciting
addition to ourCosta Rica operations.
Every year sees more development, more plantation
acquisitions and moreinsights into the abundant
wildlife that lives in and around our
plantations.2014 is lining up to be exactly the
same. There are many exciting projectsto look
forward to, all of which well feature in our
upcoming newsletters.
Top Our Santa Rita plantation, just two months
after planting. And pictured below it, our
largestuninterrupted expanse of Forestry
Easement Trust
- an impressive 200 acres
Above right A resident of our Santa Rita
plantation, thistiny glass frog has transparent
skin through which youcan see its digestive
track and beating heart
Right To show you just how fast our Melina
grows, wevephotographed this particular tree on
our Chimurriaplantation at every stage - here it
is at just 15 months old.To see its progress,
visit our website gallery
Bottom right Robert Brown and Matthew
Pickardstand next to an impressive 9-year-old
Teak tree onour San Cristobal plantation
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Never ones to sit still
Theres an exciting development taking placeamid
our Costa Rica operations
A B C D E F G I J K L
With the start of 2014, weve set in motion the
construction of ourSan Carlos region
Headquarters - yet another step in our on-going
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expansion. Designed by a local architect, our aim
is to create a buildingthat blends effortlessly
into the environment whilst providing an
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2
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ergonomic and pleasant workspace for our
ever-growing teams.
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Weve already broken ground, and as you can see
from the pictures its an
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impressive project. Always keen to minimise our
carbon footprint, our HQ willbe constructed
using sustainably sourced wood from our
plantations wherever
possible. And because over 90 of Costa Ricas
power comes from renewablesources and ranked 2nd
behind Switzerland in environmental
sustainability, weknow the building will be
powered ethically.
Architects plans of the new San Carlos region
Headquaters
At 6,334 square feet, our HQ will house our
Engineers, Management,Research Development,
GIS (Geographic Information System)
departmentsand our all-important Sales team, who
will use the building to showcase ourwood
products to national and international buyers.
Theres also a dedicated25-person classroom for
employees, students and wood related guilds
andassociations. And of course there will be a
reception, conference room andcafeteria. Weve
also made sure the building includes outside-in
areas,which we hope will invite the beauty of
the surrounding environmentinto the workplace.
We know our staff are keen to make themselves at
home in this impressivebuilding, and we very
much look forward to showing you the photos
throughout its progress.
In the meantime, its businessas usual - which,
as always, is a bustle of activity!
Construction is now underway for our San Carlos
region Headquarters
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Forestry Easement Trust fact file
Another rare tree species safeguarded byour
Forestry Easement Trust
In our last newsletter, we introduced you to the
magnificent Kapoktree, which at 40 metres tall
is truly a sight to behold. In this
edition,weve chosen to feature this Danto
amarillo tree, which lives on ourChimurria
plantation. As you can see from the photograph,
this is abeautiful and lush species and one
were very proud to protect
also collects the seeds of the rare and
endangered tree species within ourplantations,
grows them into saplings within our nursery and
then replantsthem within our protected zones.
We have many different tree species within the
zones we protect and we lookforward to
introducing them in our upcoming newsletters. In
the meantime,wellcontinue to expandour Forestry
Easement Trust alongside taking care ofour
investors trees.
under our Forestry Easement Trust.
An evergreen species, our Danto amarillo stands
30 metres tall and has a
1 metre diameter trunk. With very robust and
heavy wood, this species isideal for structural
timber and as such it has been severely depleted
throughlogging - all the more reason to
safeguard those still standing.
Chimurria
Lot 2
Considering this species is very rare on the
Atlantic slope, its important we doeverything
we can to ensure it grows healthily. But because
it lives amongstour commercial trees, we must
also make sure our investors Melina is not
Total area 425.302879 ha104309.76 N -
843314.23 W
Lot 1
encumbered in any way by its presence.
Lot 4
To achieve this careful balance within all our
plantations, we plant ourcommercial trees far
enough away from the protected tree so that the
canopydoes not hinder their growth. You can see
from the photograph that thecorridors of
15-month-old, 20ft tall Melina trees stretch as
far as the eye can seeon our 4km long plantation
and have ample room to grow, whilst the health
ofour Danto amarillo tree is safeguarded.
Lot 3
Danto amarillo
Sideroxylon capiri
Metres
Lot 5
Although regeneration of this species is rare,
its fruits provide food for a
Withour Danto amarillo tree standing amongst rows
of 15-month-old Melina, you cansee how our
ForestryEasement Trust works in harmony with our
commercial trees
variety of animals, particularly primates, who in
turn disperse the seeds. Thissymbiotic
relationship between our trees and the wildlife
around them isincredibly important to us, which
is yet another reason why we set up our
Forestry Easement Trust. And to give nature a
helping hand, our Dendrologist
Danto amarillo
Genus Sideroxylon?Species capiri
Height up to 35 metresDiameter up to 1.2
metres
Trunk cylindrical, grey-brown to light red,
exfoliating in small rectangular sheetsCrown
branches high on the stem with a
rounded crown
Special Very heavy, yellow coloured
woodfeatures with high resistance and
durability
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The road to success...
How we build great plantations
Wed like to introduce you to our recent
plantation acquisition,San Andrés. At 843 acres
in total, weve identified 553 acres of
plantableland and placed 290 acres into our
Forestry Easement Trust. But, farfrom simply
purchasing land and then planting trees, we go
throughrigorous procedures to transform
every plantation into professionalcommercial
forestry land.
With 12.5km of road already built on San Andrés,
its a significant and importantstage in
plantation preparation.
The natural waterways that occur on our
plantations help support an array
ofbiodiversity, and the connecting wetlands aid
in erosion control, water filtrationand serve as
storage for ground water supplies. Therefore,
with the beautiful riverRío Pocosol running
through San Andrés, its vital our activities do
not disturbit. To put it simply, this means
planting around it and building bridges over
it.Keen to utilise our own wood when building
bridges, in this instance we gainedpermission
from MINAE (Costa Ricas Ministry of Environment
and Energy) to
Having already passed our initial tests,
which include soil samples andtopography
checks, San Andrés was ready for transformation.
First and foremost, appropriate infrastructure
needed to be built. This meanscreating reliable
roads and, where necessary, bridges that allow us
to accessthe plantation easily. Its important
we have good access to every one of
ourcommercial trees, so we make sure every tree
we plant is no further than200 metres from any
given road. This way, not only can we approach
the treeswithout difficulty, but they can also
be easily transported to our timber millonce
harvested.
With the rainy season running from May through to
December, our roads mustwithstand wet weather
and be accessible throughout the year. This
meansidentifying places of incline and placing
extra gravel to reinforce the ground.
We make sure every tree we plant is no
furtherthan 200 metres from any given road
Waterways play an important role in the health of
our plantations, which is why weprotect those we
come across
To reinforce our roads against wet weather, we
lay extra gravel where the landnaturally
inclines
With its long root structure and fast growth,
vetiver grass minimises soil erosion
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San Andrés prior to work commencing
Matthew Pickard and the Ethical Forestry team
look on as our impressive Corteza tree
istransported to San Andrés for the construction
of bridges
Keen to utilise our own resources, this bridge
was made using a tree that had been struckby
lightning on our Santa Rita plantation
fell and use a Corteza tree that had been struck
by lightning on our Santa Ritaplantation. Its
all part of becoming self-sufficient and making
the most of theresources available to us.
Similarly, we like to make the most of our
plantations plantable areas, andbecause not all
areas are appropriate for Melina, we also plant
trees that aremore suited to the varying
topographies. On this plantation, weve planted
PinkCedar on the steeper inclines, which, due to
its ability to fix nitrogen from theatmosphere,
is more suitable to the shallower, less fertile
soil found on steepbanks. Weve also planted
Cebo on the wetter ground, which although
slowergrowing, lends itself well to areas too
wet for Melina. By diversifying the treespecies
on our plantations, we utilise space, help keep
the soil healthy andprovide a variety of wood to
our timber mill.
As you can imagine, the health of our soil is
incredibly important. To maintain ahigh quality,
once a month Costa Ricas leading soil expert
performs a soil auditon our plantations. Its
this on-going examination and quality control
that getssuch good results.
Caretaker, Ronald Picado Arroyo and his wife,
Velay Patricia Berrocal, who live and workon San
Andrés
long roots helps reinforce the land, were able
to strengthen our soils structureand prevent
erosion.
Once a month Costa Ricas leading soil
expertperforms a soil audit on our plantations
When it comes to transforming purchased land into
a commercial forestryplantation, its not just a
case of A to B. It takes expert knowledge,
professionaltechniques and hard work to
implement the correct infrastructure that will
notonly allow access to our trees, but also
reinforce the ground on which theyregrown. With
planting well underway, this plantation will
ultimately hold 214,179commercial trees, making
San Andrés a benchmark addition to our
plantationportfolio. We look forward to updating
you on its progress!
As well as soil health, an obvious priority for
us is the management of soil erosion.As with all
our forestry practices, we adopt an industry
recognised method tocontrol it, which in this
case is the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE).
Balancingthis with other techniques such as the
use of vetiver grass, which, with its 2m
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An investors story
Written byBrenda Lawson
If you would like to appear inAn investors
story, please contact
newsletter_at_ethicalforesty.com
Managing my moneyfor the future

As the owner of Ambleside BB Tetbury, in the
Cotswolds, I amfortunate to run a business that
supports my belief in sustainability
and my passion for out-of-season travel. The BB
has solar panels toheat the water, a wood
burning stove and, where possible, breakfastsare
made using local, organic ingredients.
As a semi retiree, managing my money for the
future is an importantand challenging issue. At
a time when the stock market was
particularly sluggish, I decided to explore
alternative investmentsand discovered Ethical
Forestry, which ticked several boxes,
includingsome very attractive projected returns
on investment. Admittedly, Iencountered some
resistance It looks a bit too good to be true
beinga common response. But after endlessly
grilling a very patient MarkFinn at the
companys head office, I decided to invest.This
gave me the perfect excuse to visit Costa Rica,
and a trip to EthicalForestrys operations was
arranged. I had been eager to see Costa
Ricasrainforests and wildlife for sometime, so
it was an exciting opportunityfor me. Directors
Robert Brown and his wife Geri picked me up
frommy hotel and drove me to the Chimurria
plantation. What a delightfulcouple they are -
full of knowledge and passion for the
business.It was quite a thrill to see the
plantation on which my trees are growingand also
witness the incredible growth stages of the
Melina. They alsotook me to visit their head
office, timber mill and nursery where
theseedlings were being transplanted.
I was very impressed with the whole set up and
particularlyliked the allotments dedicated to
growing vegetables for theworkforce - an
initiative called The Workers Cooperative.
I came away with a totally positive feeling about
the company,which certainly enhanced my holiday.
My two sons, who are bothself-employed in
ethical businesses, are now looking into

Ethical Forestry as a pension investment.
Investing in our employees
A happy workforce isnt just about the
working day, its about the downtime, too
With Costa Ricas exceptional landscape, it isnt
surprising that manyof our workers spend their
days off in the great outdoors - and ourEthical
Forestry cycling team is just one example.
Covering a range of positions in Ethical Forestry
including nursery, factory
floor and plantation workers, this energetic
bunch don their cycling gear mostweekends to
pedal the countrys exciting terrain.
As mountain biking is very popular throughout
Costa Rica, cycling events are
held regularly and are a good excuse for our
workers to get competitive. Usuallyclad in their
own gear, we thought wed provide them with their
very own EthicalForestry get-up, and as you can
see from the pictures, they cant be missed!
This particular event in Santa Rosa saw 980
cyclists pedal their way around
40 kilometres of countryside, with our team in
and amongst the best of
them. And to bolster them even further, we
decided to sponsor the event.Go Team Ethical
Forestry!