This article goes over it in detail The history and current reality of reforestation in MontalbánThis project integrates both modern initiatives in the Campiña Sur region of Córdoba and historical reforestation efforts in the Andorra-Sierra de Arcos area of Teruel. We will explore who participates, what species are planted, how the workshops are organized, the role of the educational community, and the context of Spain's major General Reforestation Plan, which transformed entire hillsides and changed the landscape forever.
Reforestation in Montalbán de Córdoba: Mirador de la Campiña and new green spaces
In the vicinity of the Mirador de la Campiña viewpoint, very close to the Montalbán Wine Fair Just a few meters from Pozuelo Street, a reforestation project has been undertaken with the aim of completely transforming the area's appearance within a few years. What are currently small, seemingly fragile saplings, irregularly planted on open, hot ground, are destined to become a pleasant green space, offering shade and diverse vegetation for the enjoyment of the neighborhood.
During a conference held on December 7th, Around 140 trees and shrubs were planted near the town of Montalbán de Córdoba. This intervention takes the form of urban reforestation. It has been carried out in a space where such emblematic activities as the Wine Fair were already located, but which until now lacked a tree canopy capable of mitigating the intense heat typical of the Southern Cordoba Countryside, especially in summer.
The initiative was made possible thanks to the Collaboration between Montalbán City Council and Ecologists in Action MontillaThey launched an open call to the public. Around twenty people responded, many of them families with children, who rolled up their sleeves and spent the morning digging holes, planting seedlings, firming the soil, and preparing everything so the trees would have the best chance of thriving in a demanding environment.
Among the chosen species, the following stand out: carob trees, holm oaks, mastic trees, mulberry trees and Pine treesIn addition to other Mediterranean shrubs, selected for their ability to adapt to the dry climate, with long, hot summers and irregular rainfall. It's not just about adding greenery for the sake of greenery: the choice of tree type has much to do with its resilience, its ability to provide shade, its capacity to stabilize the soil, and its role in local biodiversity.
To carry out the planting successfully, the activity relied on the funding from the Ministry for Ecological TransitionThanks to this aid, it was possible to acquire basic tools and materials, essential for organizing a plantation in good condition: shovels, hoes, protectors, buckets and other equipment necessary to work safely and efficiently.
A symbolic gesture that “sows the seeds of the future” in the countryside
The organizers have defined this reforestation as a simple gesture, but very full of symbolismIt's not just about planting trees, but about sending a clear message in a region where the heat is increasingly oppressive and where green spaces are sorely lacking in many areas. Montalbán de Córdoba is thus joining the movement to create "oases" of shade, coolness, and life in a landscape dominated by agricultural expanses and high temperatures.
The Mirador de la Campiña is a landmark for the neighborhood, a high point from which to contemplate the fields surrounding the town. However, Until now it was a spot with hardly any shelter from the sunThe reforestation aims to transform this space into a more pleasant corner, where events can be held, people can stroll, stop to rest or simply sit and enjoy the views without the relentless sun.
During the day, the participants were planting the planned species one by oneFollowing the guidelines of the environmental group and the City Council, there was a friendly and collaborative atmosphere, with time to chat and explain to the children why it's important to care for trees and how the landscape will change over time. It's likely that, in a few years, many of those children will be able to point to "I planted that tree."
By the end of the morning, the appearance of the terrain had completely changed. Where there had once been a bare and exposed space, now there were Rows of seedlings that already paint a different picture of the futureAlthough still small and vulnerable, these trees represent a long-term investment, requiring maintenance, supplemental watering during the first few summers, and monitoring for potential damage. Reforestation doesn't end the day they are planted; it begins there.
This action is part of a broader context: the lack of green areas in many parts of the province of CórdobaMany municipalities in the countryside suffer from a lack of urban and peri-urban trees, which increases the perceived temperature and reduces outdoor meeting spaces during the hottest hours of the day. Initiatives like this one aim to reverse this situation, meter by meter and tree by tree.
The role of Ecologists in Action Montilla and its expansion beyond the municipality
Reforestation in Montalbán de Córdoba did not happen out of nowhere; on the contrary, This is part of ongoing work that Ecologistas en Acción Montilla has been developing since 2016.Formerly known as Colectivo Carchena, this environmental group has been promoting plantings along roads and paths in the municipality of Montilla, leaving a green footprint in places where agricultural pressure and the lack of vegetation cover were very evident.
Over the years, the group has organized various reforestation projects in both rural and urban areasFor example, between 2020 and 2025, they carried out plantings in residential areas of Montilla, such as the Doscientas Viviendas neighborhood and the park next to Guillermo Núñez de Prado Street, as well as in the El Molinillo neighborhood. Each of these actions has been conceived as another piece of a larger puzzle: to return trees and shrubs to the everyday landscape of the citizens.
The current campaign represents a qualitative leap, because For the first time, the group decides to cross the boundaries of the municipality of Montilla to take action in a neighboring municipality, Montalbán de Córdoba. The logic behind this step is simple: the need for trees and green spaces knows no administrative boundaries; it is shared by most of the towns in the Campiña Sur region of Córdoba.
The good disposition of Montalbán de Córdoba Town Hall This has been key to the initiative's success. From the outset, the proposal was well-received, and the necessary logistics were facilitated: coordination of the event, communication with residents, support in selecting the location, and institutional backing for the entire process.
This combined effort between local government, the environmental movement, and the neighborhood generates a collaborative model that can be replicated in other municipalitiesWhen each party contributes what it does best —organization, technical knowledge, volunteer labor, financial support—, it is possible to transform degraded or vegetation-free spaces into vibrant and useful places for the community.
Environmental education and tree planting with schoolchildren
Beyond these large planting days, reforestation in Montalbán also has a clear educational and awareness-raising component, especially through the participation of the schools and the youngest ones. Every spring, preschool and first cycle primary school students participate in tree planting activities accompanied by nature protection officers.
In one of these initiatives, the kindergarten students traveled to a riverbed near the school for planting pine treesGuided by officers Manuel and Ernesto, these outings to the immediate surroundings allow children to understand in a practical way what it means to plant a tree, how to prepare the ground, why it needs to be watered and protected, and how this small action impacts the improvement of the landscape they see every day.
This is a highly valued activity in the educational community, because It links improving the environment with people's health and well-being.It's not just about "going out into the countryside to plant," but about becoming aware that trees reduce temperatures, improve air quality, offer shaded spaces for socializing, and contribute to ecological balance.
Furthermore, participating directly in reforestation creates a very powerful emotional bond: The schoolchildren feel a sense of ownership over those trees.This increases the likelihood that they will care for, respect, and defend them in the future. This emotional connection with nature is key if we want to build a citizenry more involved in environmental conservation.
By integrating these plantings into the school calendar and the dynamics of the center, Reforestation ceases to be a one-off activity to become part of the school and town's culture. Each year adds a new small intervention, and over time these efforts translate into very visible changes in the landscape, both urban and peri-urban.
The great historical impetus: the General Plan for Reforestation and Montalbán (Teruel)
To understand the scope of reforestation in Montalbán, it is also necessary to look towards The history of reforestation in the province of Teruel, where the municipality of Montalbán played a prominent role during the intense forest planting policy implemented by the Spanish State from the 1940s onwards.
The theoretical starting point of this process was the General Reforestation Plan of SpainThis document, written between 1938 and 1939 by engineers Luis Ceballos and Joaquín Ximénez de Embún, the latter originally from Aragon, analyzed in depth the climate, soils, vegetation, the need for new forests, and the hydrological problems of the Iberian Peninsula. It also assessed the natural, technical, administrative, and economic difficulties involved in reforesting large areas.
The Plan set an ambitious goal: reforest six million hectares within a period of one hundred yearsOf these, some 460.000 would correspond to the Aragon region. The goal was not only scenic or ecological; it also responded to the need to reduce erosion, improve water regulation and, in many cases, create employment in rural areas that are severely socioeconomically disadvantaged.
Between 1940 and 1960, One of the priority objectives of these repopulation efforts was to combat high rural unemployment.In the harsh postwar period, the design of a large-scale forestry program served as a political and social instrument to channel public resources to the countryside. Through the budget, direct jobs were created in tasks such as land preparation, planting, maintenance, and monitoring of the new forest areas.
During those twenty years, recourse was mainly made to manual techniques and local laborSince mechanization was limited and, in many mountainous areas, the terrain made the use of heavy machinery very difficult, the State Forestry Service (PFE), the agency responsible for carrying out the reforestation efforts, also encountered obstacles in locating available land due to the intense agricultural and livestock farming practices in many regions.
The region of Andorra-Sierra de Arcos and the mountains of Montalbán (Teruel)
Within this great repopulation effort, The mountains of the province of Teruel became a clear example of massive interventionThe Andorra-Sierra de Arcos region, where Montalbán (Teruel) is located, was one of the settings where these plans were deployed, with actions that profoundly transformed hillsides, north-facing slopes and south-facing slopes.
Among the historical references of this period, the public forest nursery of Alloza stands out, known as “The Calvary”Active between 1955 and 1961, descriptions and photographs of which are preserved. From there, plants were produced to supply numerous reforestation projects in the region and in nearby mountains, helping to maintain the planting rate required by the General Plan.
During these decades, the following was achieved reforest approximately 1.300.000 hectares across the countryHalf of these resettlements took place in the second half of the 1950s, just as a significant portion of the rural population was beginning to migrate to industrial areas. In this context, resettlement projects became a stepping stone to employment for many people before they moved on to other occupations.
In the specific case of Montalbán (Teruel), there is abundant graphic documentation about teams of workers dedicated to reforestationScenes of Corsican pine planting, work on steep slopes, and improvements to local nurseries. All this material helps to understand the physical and logistical effort involved in establishing new forests during years of significant material limitations.
They also developed specific work for the defense and maintenance of forest nurseries, such as the one in La Orden de Montalbán, from where thousands of plants were sent to different forests in the province. The tasks included preparing the land for seedbeds, irrigation, uprooting the plants, classifying them, and packaging them for transport to the planting areas.
Pine reforestation, extreme slopes and fire prevention
The surviving images from that period show, for example, strips of land populated with Corsican pine in MontalbánThese images correspond to reforestation projects from 1950, published in the professional journal "Montes: Publicación de los Ingenieros de Montes" (Forests: Publication of Forest Engineers). Entire forests can be seen reorganized into strips, with young pines that, over time, would form large forest stands.
They appear in other photos northern slopes of the river in 1967where reforestation work was carried out on very steep slopes. These north-facing and south-facing slopes, previously dominated by scrubland or poor pastures, began to be covered with trees, which helped to hold the soil in place, reduce runoff, and moderate the impact of heavy rains.
The reforestation work was not without risks. One of the constant threats was firesThese fires were sometimes caused by controlled burns of field margins in nearby areas. The year 1961 was particularly critical, very dry and hot, with serious fires in the Levante region. In this context, public notices were issued reminding residents of the strict prohibition against lighting fires within 200 meters of reforested areas.
In case of fire, the protocol required the forest ranger to mobilize all available personnel to assist in extinguishing the fire. Participation was remunerated according to the usual salaries of the State Forestry Service. To facilitate a rapid response, firefighting equipment—tools, first-response equipment—was centralized at the Montalbán forestry house, which acted as a logistics hub.
Historical photographs also show heavy snowfalls in Montalbán in the early fiftiessuch as the views from Los Casetos in 1951, with the village completely covered in snow. These extreme conditions, combined with dry summers, tested the resilience of the new plantings, forcing careful selection of species and planting techniques.
Agricultural and forestry work: oxen, slopes and soil quality
Another curious aspect of this graphic memory is the scenes in which one sees pairs of oxen plowing in the sunny part of the cradleIn Montalbán (Teruel), in 1956. The terrain had slopes of up to 56%, a real challenge for any agricultural or forestry work. The images show how the pole hanging from the center of the yoke served to mark the vertical and, therefore, the slope of the land.
On soils with gorse scrub (Genista scorpius), in areas such as the shady side of the molarAlso in Montalbán, plowing was carried out using Brabant-type plows pulled by oxen. These tasks allowed the land to be prepared for planting pines or other forest species, opening furrows under conditions that are almost unthinkable today without specialized machinery.
The photographs describe soil quality and the steepness of the slopesThis highlights the enormous human and animal effort required for the reforestation efforts to succeed. Far from the idyllic image of "planting a forest," daily work in the mountains involved long days, simple tools, and a combination of technique and intuition developed on the ground.
In some picnic areas and recreational areas, such as in the Casetos area, they are still preserved commemorative plaques that recall those reforestation effortsThese are small tributes to a period in which millions of trees were planted in Spain, often with scarce resources but with a clear desire to change the landscape and generate employment.
The historical reforestation in Montalbán (Teruel) and the current reforestation in Montalbán de Córdoba ultimately share, a single underlying idea: the tree as an ally against environmental degradationAlthough the context, objectives, and tools have changed, the desired result remains very similar: soil stabilization, improvement of the local climate, and creation of more habitable habitats and spaces for people.
Today, both in the Campiña Sur Cordobesa and in the Andorra-Sierra de Arcos region, the efforts of environmental groups, administrations, schools and residents They continue to water that seed of the future that was planted decades ago.The new urban and peri-urban reforestation projects, more focused on citizen well-being and adaptation to climate change, are based on a long forestry tradition that left behind forests, paths and memories in the form of black and white photographs.
In some cases, modern techniques such as the Miyawaki method Other approaches to dense planting and rapid restoration are being considered by groups seeking to improve the survival and resilience of new tree stands, especially in urban and peri-urban contexts.
Today, both in the Campiña Sur Cordobesa and in the Andorra-Sierra de Arcos region, the efforts of environmental groups, administrations, schools and residents They continue to water that seed of the future that was planted decades ago.The new urban and peri-urban reforestation projects, more focused on citizen well-being and adaptation to climate change, are based on a long forestry tradition that left behind forests, paths and memories in the form of black and white photographs.
