Bergwaldprojekt

Bergwaldprojekt is a multinational environmental protection organization built around practical volunteer work in forests and cultural landscapes. Its central focus is the protection, preservation, and care of mountain forests, although its activities also extend to peatlands, coastal forests, island forests, mid-mountain ranges, and other habitats requiring ecological maintenance. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial brand, Bergwaldprojekt functions as a network of legally distinct nonprofit organizations and associated initiatives in several European countries. The project began in Switzerland in 1987. Swiss forester Renato Ruf and German Greenpeace employee Wolfgang Lohbeck established the initiative after identifying a need for direct, hands-on work to support forests exposed to ecological pressure. The first operation took place in Malans in the canton of Graubünden. In its early period, the initiative received organizational and financial support from WWF and Greenpeace. By 1990, both organizations had enabled it to become independent. The Swiss organization subsequently developed as a charitable foundation under the supervision of Switzerland's Federal Department of Home Affairs. Bergwaldprojekt expanded into Germany, where projects had already been taking place since 1991 and an independent German association was founded in 1993 to manage and finance them. The first Austrian operation was held in 1994, while activities began in Liechtenstein in 2004. Since 2007, the network has also organized recurring project weeks in Catalonia through the Projecte Boscos de Muntanya initiative. Between 2006 and 2015, the organization conducted additional one-week projects in the Carpathian region of Ukraine. The organization's distinctive offering is the volunteer project week. Participants without professional forestry qualifications work under specialist supervision on tasks selected for local ecological needs. Assignments can include forest maintenance, care of young growth, reforestation of protective forests, construction and repair of hiking trails, measures against browsing damage, fence construction, erosion control, landscape and biotope maintenance, peatland restoration, and the construction of structures designed to reduce snow movement. In Germany, a major emphasis is forest conversion: helping transform vulnerable spruce monocultures into more structurally diverse and climate-resilient forests. Sites range from Alpine and Pyrenean mountain forests to the Black Forest, Rhön, Harz, Amrum's island forests, and Baltic coastal forests. Bergwaldprojekt generally works on public land, land owned by charitable organizations, or areas designated as part of Germany's National Natural Heritage. This operating model links volunteer participation with long-term public-interest land management rather than private commercial forestry. The project weeks also have an educational and social dimension, giving participants direct experience of forest ecology, land-use pressures, climate adaptation, and the physical work involved in maintaining habitats. The network has a decentralized legal structure. Switzerland uses a foundation model; Germany and Spain operate through independent associations; and Austria's activities are organized under the umbrella of the Austrian Alpine Club. Funding comes from donations, supporting memberships, company and institutional contributions, public funding, in-kind support, and income connected with project work. The organization therefore combines charitable financing with a service-oriented project model. Its 2020 German activities were additionally shaped by a substantial bequest, but the group is not a listed or investor-owned enterprise. A notable strategic development came in 2020, when Bergwaldprojekt and the Greenpeace Environmental Foundation acquired approximately 200 hectares of forest near Unterschönau in the Thuringian Forest, including the former site of Moosburg Castle. The resulting Future Forest project aims to convert a spruce monoculture poorly adapted to climate-change conditions toward a more natural forest-management approach inspired by the Lübeck City Forest. This initiative illustrates the organization's broader evolution from short-term volunteer conservation assignments toward longer-term demonstration and land-management projects.

Bergwaldprojekt was founded in Switzerland in 1987 by forester Renato Ruf and Greenpeace employee Wolfgang Lohbeck. The founding concept was to bring volunteers into direct contact with forest protection and restoration work, especially in mountain forests facing ecological degradation and management challenges. The first project took place in Malans, in the canton of Graubünden. During its initial years, WWF and Greenpeace supplied organizational and financial support. By 1990, the initiative had developed enough independence for those organizations to step back from its direct support. The Swiss structure became a charitable foundation supervised by the Federal Department of Home Affairs. The project then expanded beyond Switzerland. Activities had been taking place in Germany since 1991, and the German association was formally established in 1993 to provide independent financing and administration for the German program. Austria hosted its first project in 1994. The network later extended to Liechtenstein in 2004, and recurring project weeks began in Catalonia in 2007 through the Projecte Boscos de Muntanya initiative. From 2006 to 2015, Bergwaldprojekt also organized annual one-week assignments in Ukraine's Carpathian region. The organization's work is structured around supervised project weeks for people who are not necessarily forestry professionals. Participants carry out physical tasks chosen according to the needs of each site. These can include maintaining forests and young trees, planting or tending protective forests, repairing or building hiking paths, controlling browsing damage, installing fences, reducing erosion, maintaining biotopes and cultural landscapes, restoring peatlands, and constructing tripods or similar structures to reduce snow movement. Projects are held across a wide range of environments, including Alpine and Pyrenean forests, the Black Forest, the Rhön and Harz ranges, Amrum's island forests, and Baltic coastal forests. Bergwaldprojekt normally limits its work to public forests, land belonging to charitable organizations, or areas managed under public conservation arrangements. In Germany, its work is especially associated with forest conversion: reducing dependence on spruce monocultures that are poorly suited to warmer and more unstable climatic conditions and encouraging more natural, diverse forest structures. The project-week format serves both an ecological and educational purpose. Volunteers contribute labor while learning about forest dynamics, climate impacts, conservation policy, and the relationship between human land use and ecosystem health. The network is not a single conventional corporation. It is organized through separate national structures: a foundation in Switzerland, independent associations in Germany and Spain, and an Austrian operation under the Austrian Alpine Club. Financing is drawn from donations, supporting memberships, contributions from companies and institutions, public funds, in-kind donations, and revenue associated with project work. This mixed model allows the organization to combine charitable fundraising with practical conservation assignments. In 2020, Bergwaldprojekt and the Greenpeace Environmental Foundation purchased approximately 200 hectares near Unterschönau in the Thuringian Forest. The property included the former Moosburg castle site. Under the name Future Forest, the partners planned to move the area away from a spruce monoculture considered poorly adapted to climate change and toward a more natural management approach modeled on the Lübeck City Forest. The acquisition marked a significant development because it gave the organization a direct long-term role in land stewardship, complementing its established model of temporary volunteer interventions. By the 2020s, Bergwaldprojekt remained active across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Catalonia, with its work spanning mountain forests, low and mid-elevation forests, coastal environments, and peatlands. Its identity continues to rest on practical participation: volunteers perform tangible conservation work under professional guidance while supporting broader goals of forest resilience, biodiversity, and public environmental awareness.

• 2020

  Future Forest land acquisition

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  Bergwaldprojekt and the Greenpeace Environmental Foundation acquired approximately 200 hectares in the Thuringian Forest for a forest-conversion and restoration project.

• 2007

  Recurring Catalan project weeks begin

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  The network began holding several project weeks each year in Catalonia through Projecte Boscos de Muntanya.

• 2004

  Expansion to Liechtenstein

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  Bergwaldprojekt began operating in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

• 1994

  First Austrian operation

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  The organization held its first project in Austria.

• 1993

  German association established

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  An independent German association was founded to finance and manage the country's projects.

• 1991

  German projects begin

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  Bergwaldprojekt began conducting projects in Germany.

• 1990

  The initiative becomes independent

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  After receiving early support from WWF and Greenpeace, Bergwaldprojekt moved toward organizational independence.

• 1987

  Bergwaldprojekt founded in Switzerland

  [1]Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org

  Renato Ruf and Wolfgang Lohbeck founded the initiative, and its first operation took place in Malans in the canton of Graubünden.

A practical conservation NGO that combines supervised volunteer labor, ecological restoration, environmental education, and long-term forest management, with particular expertise in mountain forests and climate-resilient forest conversion.

• Environmental volunteering · 1987

  Volunteer project weeks

  One-week, professionally supervised assignments for forestry laypersons. Participants carry out practical conservation work in forests and cultural landscapes, gaining direct experience of ecological management while contributing labor to public or charitable land.

• Forest restoration

  Forest conversion projects

  Projects designed to improve the resilience and ecological diversity of forests, particularly by converting climate-vulnerable spruce monocultures toward more natural forest structures. This is a major focus of the German program and the Future Forest initiative.

• Ecosystem conservation · 1987

  Mountain forest protection

  Work in Alpine and Pyrenean forests and other mountain environments, including protective-forest restoration, trail work, erosion control, young-growth maintenance, and measures addressing browsing and snow movement.

• Habitat restoration

  Peatland and biotope restoration

  Volunteer assignments supporting peatland restoration, landscape maintenance, and biotope care. These activities broaden the organization's work beyond forest stands to connected habitats and culturally shaped landscapes.

• 2020Future Forest

  Germany

  Bergwaldprojekt and the Greenpeace Environmental Foundation acquired forest land near Unterschönau to demonstrate a transition from a climate-sensitive spruce monoculture to more natural forest management.

  Outcome. The acquisition created a long-term demonstration and stewardship project in the Thuringian Forest.

  Source
• 2007Projecte Boscos de Muntanya

  Catalonia · Spain

  A Catalan initiative associated with the Bergwaldprojekt network began organizing recurring volunteer project weeks in mountain forests and related landscapes.

  Outcome. The Catalan program became an ongoing regional component of the wider network.

  Source

• 2020

  Acquire land for long-term forest conversionStrategy

  Background

  Climate change has increased the vulnerability of spruce monocultures, including those in the Thuringian Forest.

  Action taken

  Bergwaldprojekt and the Greenpeace Environmental Foundation acquired approximately 200 hectares near Unterschönau and established the Future Forest project.

  Aftermath

  The organization gained a direct long-term land-management role alongside its established volunteer project weeks.

  Source

• 1990

  Move toward organizational independenceStrategy

  Background

  The initiative had initially received organizational and financial support from WWF and Greenpeace.

  Action taken

  Bergwaldprojekt became independent rather than remaining a directly supported initiative of those organizations.

  Aftermath

  The project developed its own foundation, association, and partner structures in different countries.

  Source

1. 1Bergwaldprojekten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Projecte Boscos de Muntanyaprojecteboscos.cat