For Ramblewild Owner, Park Much More Than A Business
 Paolo and Valentina Cugnasca says the park isn't just a business venture for them but rather a way to give back to the community. |
He worked for one of the largest banks in the world before starting his own financial company in New York City. From his Madison Avenue office, he provides corporations and businesses risk analysis and guidance on investments and securities from the company he founded in 1979.
When it comes to forestland, Cugnasca found value wasn't just in buying up real estate or in cutting down the trees for lumber. He sees value in the eyes of teenagers accomplishing something great. He sees value in education.
He sees self-confidence — not money he sees.
That's why he bought some 1,400 acres of land in Lanesborough and built Ramblewild, an aerial adventure park.
"Ramblewild is much more than an aerial park where you have fun in the trees. It is a place where you learn about yourself. You learn about self-confidence, teamwork. For young people, it has a tremendous social impact. We hope we'll all benefit from it," Cugnasca said. "If we don't teach the younger generation the forest, who is going to take care of it when we are gone?"
The Italian-born businessman opened the park with his daughter, Valentina Cugnasca, last year. They see the park's value as more than just a business opportunity.
That stems from a meeting in 2003 when they were showing some investors forestland with a Williams College professor. The investor asked what value the land had and the professor retorted with a question: "do you know what it is like to come here in the spring with my grandkids when there are 36 kinds of wildflowers on the floor of the forest?"
"We accounted for the land and the trees. He had found all of these other values that we hadn't considered. We stopped and wondered what it is really worth. How can it be worth the land and the trees? It has to be worth more," Valentina Cugnasca.
By the end of 2006, the two had started Feronia Forest, which aims to preserve woodlands. The company bought two properties on Brodie Mountain Road and another large property in upstate New York. Their goal is to get value from the land without harming the environment.
"It is a different way of examining the forest. It is the idea of instead of generating income, financial return from cutting down trees, can you generate social, environmental, and financial income without cutting trees?" Valentina Cugnasca said.
The first project started in Lanesborough. They lease land for the Brodie Mountain Wind Project high above, are launching a maple syrup production business, and developed a new natural drink — Vertical Water. And the jewel in crown is Ramblewild.
"What we've changed is what you consider valuable. It is not just the real estate and the trees. It is all of these different things. It is a holistic approach at what value is," Valentina Cugnasca said.
With 150 obstacles on eight courses, the park provides an opportunity for visitors to test their athletic skills on a range of courses and enjoy the forest. Some of the features include a kayak that transports the user across a large ravine, a "leap of faith" off a platform (with help from belays), and tricky platforms high in the air to walk across.
Meanwhile, the company holds classes for high school students to learn biology in a fun way and outdoor music performances for the arts. None of which harms the land.
"There are 150 platforms in trees and there isn't one single nail or screw to hold them to it, it is clamps. When we leave, when Ramblewild would be taken out of the forests, it will be as if we were never there. There is no impact on the forest," Paolo Cugnasca said.
"We impact the community in that we create jobs, we partner with schools to integrate Ramblewild as a platform as part of the curriculum. Mount Greylock [Regional] School comes here for classes and in performing arts we hold concerts for children in the area."
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She has a history in finance as well, which she says is a benefit for crafting the project to limit risk in both the financial and the real estate sense, and headed the effort to build the park.
"I was absolutely burnt out in finance and was looking for a change. I was able to convince Paolo that this was the right kind of change for us," Cugnasca said.
The company became a B-Corporation, which means it is assessed each year for social and environmental stewardship. They've launched a nonprofit — Feronia Forward — to raise money to send children who otherwise couldn't afford it to the park.
When they do cut the trees, it will be in a sustainable manner so that the rest of the forest is unharmed. But until then, the park is generating both revenues and memories.
"What we do to this forest today will be seen by our great-grandchildren 50 years from today," Paolo Cugnasca said.
For the Cugnascas, that means more than financial return, but rather that children learn to appreciate the value, learn the self-confidence to overcome the obstacles, and the lasting memory they have when they leave the park.
"That's what makes me happy. You ask about the social impact and if that is all we generate — those types of smiles and the confidence she [pointing to a girl finally making it over an obstacle she struggled with] feels — that's a great baseline to start," Valentina Cugnasca said.
While the two say the still maintain their financial business, Ramblewild is in no way a part-time endeavor. He says he has plans to expand the park in the future.
"Everything you do in life is a full-time job. You have to do it with passion," Paolo Cugnasca said.
Tags: aerial park, forestland,
