On Saturday, November 30, the Reforesta association will carry out the first day of volunteering for the planting of native trees and shrubs in the province of Toledo, a magnificent opportunity to learn more about the work of this NGO and to know the indigenous biodiversity, reforestation and sustainable agriculture.
It will be on the 1.4 hectare farm that Reforesta owns in Almonacid of Toledo, in a land completely devoid of trees and with little plant cover. And they need hands, especially 60. The day will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and it is essential to register via the Reforesta website. In total, 30 places are offered. Volunteers will receive prior training to correctly carry out the planting, as well as information on the species to be planted and the objectives of the project, which is part of a pilot program for the environmental recovery of degraded spaces.
Reforest plans to plant 570 specimens and, in addition to the complete planting process, consisting of making the hole with a hoe, placing the tree, covering the hole, making a tree pit and installing a protector and stake, the volunteers will carry out irrigation implantation for each specimen.
This is Reforesta’s second action in Toledo, after planting 3,000 trees in Madridejos in the fall of 2020. The NGO acquired the Almonacid farm in Toledo in 2022 with the aim of having enough space to carry out different plantations and improve the soil and thus increase knowledge on techniques for recovering degraded areas.
The Reforesta farm in Almonacid de Toledo is a land located in an agricultural environment completely devoid of trees and with practically no plant cover. There is no progress in natural regeneration, probably due to soil compaction since there is little wild vegetation in the environment and therefore no seeds arrive. The proportion of organic matter is only 1.09% and the mineral analysis showed a clear imbalance.
In recent decades, agricultural areas have been experiencing intense loss of biodiversityof the soil and the capacity to retain rainwater. Intensive agriculture, or the simple exhaustion of soil after centuries of exploitation and subsequent abandonment, are at the origin of this situation.
The poverty of organic matter, the scarcity or absence of natural vegetation and the reduction of biodiversity constitute the gloomy panorama offered by the vast agricultural areas of Spain. The case of the province of Toledo is more urgent, since it is one of the six Spanish provinces with forest area less than 25% of the territory.
This is why Reforesta understands that it is necessary to carry out projects that demonstrate that it is possible to recover natural vegetation and biodiversity while practicing sustainable agriculture that takes care of the soil. In this sense, thanks to the financial contribution of Verdecora and the collaboration of the Worldcoo platform, dedicated to solidarity rounding, Reforesta proposed to plant in Toledo on Saturday, November 30, 570 trees and shrubs of a dozen species, among which are oak, kermes oak, gorse, torvisco and rosemary.
The work doesn’t stop there. After planting, maintenance work will come.
The first action carried out at the Almonacid farm in Toledo was the installation of three perches for birds of prey. After that, on the 30th, volunteers will plant the perimeter hedge with native species to demarcate the property. And subsequently, Reforesta will perform various maintenance tasks to improve the survival percentage. Among them, summer irrigation or emergency irrigation during periods of non-summer drought stand out.
“Plantings involve subsequent maintenance which includes tasks such as irrigation, rebuilding tree pits, replacing, moving or removing guards when they are no longer needed and installing fencing to prevent the “herbivory, that is, predation by livestock and wild animals,” explains Miguel Ángel Ortega, president of Reforesta.
The work program of the Almonacid de Toledo farm also includes the realization organic fertilizer and mineral balance with a view to improving the soil and subsequently cultivating part of it in a regenerative agriculture approach. Likewise, space will be reserved to carry out future forest restoration trials.
At the national level, Reforesta has already exceeded the number of 77,000 specimens planted and this season it is also planning various environmental actions in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Valencia and Zaragoza.
None of this would be possible without the help of partners, businesses and volunteers. Since 2010, when Reforesta began its environmental volunteering activities, thousands of people throughout Spain have participated in the conservation and improvement of natural spaces, carrying out works such as planting, watering and maintaining native trees and shrubs, creating refuges for wildlife. , the conservation of ponds for amphibians or even the cleaning of river banks.
About Reforesta
NGO created in 1991 and declared of public utility which has planted and maintained more than 77,000 trees for fight against desertification and climate changeand help avoid the degradation of lands and forests by promoting their biodiversity.
