# ARBA - Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono

> Volunteer-run Spanish association restoring native woodland from its own nurseries since 1986

Source: https://treerm.org/org/arba · Updated 2026-11-08 · Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://treerm.org/about#license)

## Facts

- Type: Nonprofit
- Scope: National
- Headquarters: Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain
- Founded: 1986
- Website: https://arba-s.org
- Volunteer sign-up: https://arba-s.org/colaborar/
- Donate: https://arba-s.org/colaborar/
- Events calendar: https://arba-s.org/agenda/
- Countries where they plant: Spain
- Activity types: Reforestation (primary), Nurseries & seedlings, Seed collection, Education & advocacy
- Trees on record: 250,000 (larger of latest cumulative figure and sum of annual figures; trees planted or distributed)

## About

ARBA was founded in Madrid in 1986 and is now a network of about 35 autonomous local groups across the Iberian Peninsula with around 2,000 members, all unpaid volunteers. The groups run native-plant nurseries (ARBA Madrid holds a monthly 'Día de vivero' work day), organise autumn-winter restoration plantings that it classifies as educational, scientific or protest plantings, run school programmes (ARBA Educa) and campaign on issues such as herbicide use and hunting. It estimates it has sown more than three million seeds and planted just over 250,000 native trees, refuses payment per tree planted, and funds itself through member dues and donations.

## Programs

- **Restauraciones (planting campaigns)** — Reforestation (1986–present): Autumn-winter volunteer plantings of nursery-grown native species on degraded land, run by each local group; the first was in Riaza (Segovia) in 1986. https://arba-s.org/que-hacemos/restauraciones/
- **Días de vivero (nursery work days)** — Nurseries & seedlings: Monthly open work days at ARBA Madrid's nursery to sow, transplant and care for native plants later used in restorations or donated to other groups. https://arba-s.org/que-hacemos/dias-de-vivero/
- **ARBA Educa** — Education & advocacy: School visits, nursery visits and planting activities with pupils; publishes activity reports per school year (2019/20 to 2021/22). https://arba-s.org/para-leer/memorias/

## Metrics

> Note: ARBA publishes no consolidated annual planting totals. The only organisation-wide figure is an undated statement on its Restauraciones page that in 'thirty years' (i.e. about 2016) it had planted just over 250,000 native trees and sown more than three million seeds. Local groups publish their own activity reports (ARBA Albacete-Chinchilla 2020-2022, ARBA Educa 2019-2022, ARBA Valladolid 2018) that list individual plantings but no aggregated counts. The 2,000 figure is current membership, not a volunteer count.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Volunteers engaged | 2026 | 2,000 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Estimated | [source](https://arba-s.org/quienes-somos/) Quiénes somos page: 'alrededor de 2000 socios' and 'Todos somos voluntarios'; membership used as a proxy for active volunteers, so treat as approximate |
| Trees planted | 2016 | 250,000 | yes (to date) | Restauraciones (planting campaigns) | Self-reported | [source](https://arba-s.org/que-hacemos/restauraciones/) Restauraciones page (undated, read 2026-11-07): 'ARBA lleva treinta años ... calculamos que hemos puesto más de tres millones de semillas y hemos plantado algo más de doscientos cincuenta mil árboles'. 'Thirty years' from the 1986 founding dates the statement to about 2016 |

Confidence: self-reported is the organization's own published figure; independently verified means a third party confirmed it; estimated means TreeRM derived it and the note says how.

## Upcoming events

- 2026-11-08 — Plantación de Camino Mendocino (Volunteer planting), Madrid — register: https://arba-s.org/evento/plantacion-de-camino-mendocino/ — https://treerm.org/events/arba/plantacion-de-camino-mendocino-2026-11-08.md
- 2026-11-08 — Plantación de Camino Mendocino (ARBA Guadalix) (Volunteer planting), Guadalix de la Sierra — register: https://arba-s.org/evento/plantacion-de-camino-mendocino/ — https://treerm.org/events/arba/plantacion-de-camino-mendocino-arba-guadalix-2026-11-08.md
- 2026-11-08 — Plantación de Camino Mendocino (Volunteer planting), Madrid — register: https://arba-s.org/evento/plantacion-de-camino-mendocino/ — https://treerm.org/events/arba/plantacion-de-camino-mendocino-2026-11-08-2.md
- 2026-11-10 — PARÁMETROS ECOLÓGICOS DE LOS TRANSECTOS DE CABAÑEROS. ANÁLISIS DE LOS MISMOS Y MARIPOSAS DE INTERÉS PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN (Other), Madrid — register: https://arba-s.org/evento/parametros-ecologicos-de-los-transectos-de-cabaneros-analisis-de-los-mismos-y-mariposas-de-interes-para-la-conservacion-2/ — https://treerm.org/events/arba/parametros-ecologicos-de-los-transectos-de-cabaneros-analisis-de-los-mismos-y-ma.md
- 2026-11-10 — Parámetros ecológicos de los transectos de Cabañeros y mariposas de interés para la conservación (Training / workshop), Ciudad Real — https://treerm.org/events/arba/parametros-ecologicos-de-los-transectos-de-cabaneros-y-mariposas-de-interes-para.md
- 2026-11-10 — PARÁMETROS ECOLÓGICOS DE LOS TRANSECTOS DE CABAÑEROS. ANÁLISIS DE LOS MISMOS Y MARIPOSAS DE INTERÉS PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN (Other), Madrid — register: https://arba-s.org/evento/parametros-ecologicos-de-los-transectos-de-cabaneros-analisis-de-los-mismos-y-mariposas-de-interes-para-la-conservacion-2/ — https://treerm.org/events/arba/parametros-ecologicos-de-los-transectos-de-cabaneros-analisis-de-los-mismos-y-ma-2.md
- 2026-11-14 — EN PIE CONTRA EL SAQUEO AMBIENTAL (Other), Madrid — register: https://arba-s.org/evento/en-pie-contra-el-saqueo-ambiental/ — https://treerm.org/events/arba/en-pie-contra-el-saqueo-ambiental-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — En pie contra el saqueo ambiental (concentración) (Other), Madrid — https://treerm.org/events/arba/en-pie-contra-el-saqueo-ambiental-concentracion-2026-11-14.md
- 2026-11-14 — EN PIE CONTRA EL SAQUEO AMBIENTAL (Other), Madrid — register: https://arba-s.org/evento/en-pie-contra-el-saqueo-ambiental/ — https://treerm.org/events/arba/en-pie-contra-el-saqueo-ambiental-2026-11-14-2.md

## Links

- x: https://x.com/ARBAlavieja
- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arba_raiz/
- facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/ARBA-100064303647248/
- youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCppAQKgUPREdOisnVEfJriw

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