# Bergwaldprojekt e.V.

> Week-long volunteer work camps restoring forests, peatlands and open habitats across Germany

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

## Facts

- Type: Nonprofit
- Scope: National
- Headquarters: Höchberg, Bavaria, Germany
- Founded: 1993
- Website: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de
- Volunteer sign-up: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/freiwilligenprojekte
- Donate: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/foerdern
- Events calendar: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/freiwilligenprojekte/regulaere-projekte
- Countries where they plant: Germany
- Activity types: Reforestation (primary), Tree care & maintenance, Education & advocacy, Research & monitoring
- Trees on record: 29,722 (larger of latest cumulative figure and sum of annual figures; trees planted or distributed)

## About

Bergwaldprojekt e.V. is a German non-profit association founded in 1993 (registered at Amtsgericht Würzburg, office in Höchberg near Würzburg) that organises free, week-long volunteer project weeks in which participants plant native trees, protect young trees from browsing, rewet peatlands and tend open-land habitats together with forest owners and national parks. It grew out of the Swiss Stiftung Bergwaldprojekt (Trin, founded 1990), a separate sister foundation that runs the same model in Switzerland. In 2024 it ran 251 project deployments with 5,100 participants (159 regular volunteer weeks, 16 single days, 33 corporate volunteering projects, 30 Waldschule weeks with schools), including 15 one-day 'Neihaufeschte' planting festivals at which 1,127 people planted 29,722 native trees. With the Greenpeace environmental foundation it co-owns the 280-hectare Zukunftswald Unterschönau in the Thuringian Forest, and since 2024 it monitors planting success on a sample of 80 plots.

## Programs

- **Freiwilligen-Projektwochen (volunteer project weeks)** — Reforestation (1991–present): Free week-long work camps (Sunday to Saturday) at around 95 project sites in Germany where volunteers plant native broadleaf trees, build browsing protection, rewet peatland and tend biotopes; lodging and food provided, travel self-paid. https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/freiwilligenprojekte
- **Neihaufeschte planting festivals** — Reforestation: One-day planting and habitat-care festivals for up to 150 volunteers; in 2024 15 Neihaufeschte at 12 sites planted 29,722 native trees. https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/freiwilligenprojekte/neihaufeschte
- **Waldschule (forest school weeks)** — Education & advocacy: Project weeks with schools, universities and youth-welfare institutions combining practical forest work with education for sustainable development; 30 weeks with 581 participants in 2024. https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/waldschule
- **Zukunftswald Unterschönau** — Research & monitoring: Demonstration forest in the Thuringian Forest co-owned with the Umweltstiftung Greenpeace (200 ha from the start, plus 80 ha bought in October 2024) managed as a model for near-natural, ecosystem-oriented forestry. https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/zukunftswald-unterschoenau

## Metrics

> Note: Bergwaldprojekt reports participants, project weeks and work days rather than an annual tree total; the only org-wide 2024 tree figure is 29,722 trees at the 15 Neihaufeschte festivals, so the directory shows that program-level number. The website (Nov 2026) gives '172 Projektwochen an 95 Projektorten, über 5.000 Freiwillige' for 2026. The Swiss Stiftung Bergwaldprojekt (Trin, GR) is a legally separate organisation and is not included in these figures.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Funds raised (USD) | 2024 | 4,586,000 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Estimated | [source](https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/sites/default/files/2025-11/jahresbericht%202024.pdf) Jahresbericht 2024, p.31 Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung: 'Summe Ertrag' 2024 = EUR 4.246.334 (2023: EUR 4.185.661), of which EUR 1.970.540 is earned income from forest and corporate partners (Zweckbetrieb) and EUR 900.281 corporate donations. Converted at approx. 1.08 USD/EUR (2024 average). |
| Survival rate (%) | 2024 | 90 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/sites/default/files/2025-11/jahresbericht%202024.pdf) Jahresbericht 2024, p.18: first planting-success monitoring on a sample of 80 plots with at least 1,000 trees planted in the last 3 years found 'ca. 90 % der Baumpflanzungen positiv entwickeln'. |
| Volunteers engaged | 2024 | 5,100 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/sites/default/files/2025-11/jahresbericht%202024.pdf) Jahresbericht 2024, p.13 table 'Teilnehmende' total (Summe) 2024: 5.100 participants across 251 Projekteinsätze and 1.421 project days (2023: 4.332 / 214 / 1.242); 24.821 work days. |
| Trees planted | 2024 | 29,722 | no (that year) | Neihaufeschte planting festivals | Self-reported | [source](https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/sites/default/files/2025-11/jahresbericht%202024.pdf) Jahresbericht 2024, p.13: 'Im Jahr 2024 fanden 15 Neihaufeschte an 12 verschiedenen Projektorten statt, an denen 1.127 Personen insgesamt 29.722 standortheimische Bäume gepflanzt ... haben.' The report gives no org-wide tree total for 2024; other stated plantings include over 2,500 trees at new Black Forest sites and 3,350 trees at single-day deployments in Ebersberg and Breckerfeld. |

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

- 2026-11-15 — Projektwoche 137D2026 Alt-Buchhorst (Landkreis Oder-Spree) (Volunteer planting), Grünheide (Mark) — register: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/user/login?destination=/civiremote/event/3075/register — https://treerm.org/events/bergwaldprojekt/projektwoche-137d2026-alt-buchhorst-landkreis-oder-spree-2026-11-15.md
- 2026-11-15 — Projektwoche 139D2026 Marktheidenfelder Platte (Mainfranken) (Other), Marktheidenfeld — register: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/user/login?destination=/civiremote/event/3077/register — https://treerm.org/events/bergwaldprojekt/projektwoche-139d2026-marktheidenfelder-platte-mainfranken-2026-11-15.md
- 2026-11-22 — Projektwoche 143D2026 Ueckermünder Heide (Ostvorpommersches Küstenland) (Volunteer planting), Ueckermünde — register: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/ueckermuender-heide/143d2026 — https://treerm.org/events/bergwaldprojekt/projektwoche-143d2026-ueckermunder-heide-ostvorpommersches-kustenland-2026-11-22.md
- 2026-11-22 — Projektwoche 141D2026 Bad Wildbad (Nordschwarzwald) (Volunteer planting), Bad Wildbad — register: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/bad-wildbad/141d2026 — https://treerm.org/events/bergwaldprojekt/projektwoche-141d2026-bad-wildbad-nordschwarzwald-2026-11-22.md
- 2026-11-22 — Projektwoche 142D2026 Spessart (Naturpark Spessart) (Volunteer planting), Spessart — register: https://www.bergwaldprojekt.de/projekte/spessart/142d2026 — https://treerm.org/events/bergwaldprojekt/projektwoche-142d2026-spessart-naturpark-spessart-2026-11-22.md

## Links

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bergwaldprojekt/
- facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BergwaldprojektDeutschland
- linkedin: https://de.linkedin.com/company/bergwaldprojekt-e-v
- youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bergwaldprojektev

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