From February 16 to February 22, our second Planting Week of the season took place along the Vjosa Wild River National Park. During this week, experts as well as national and international volunteers came together to spend several days working in the field, learning directly from Europe’s last wild river, experiencing the Albanian lifestyle, and sharing stories and laughter.
Planting Week is part of the ReForestVjosa project, which aims to restore 230 hectares of native forest across the Vjosa Wild River National Park. As part of this initiative, a tree nursery was established in Tepelenë, where three employees and a volunteer work throughout the year cultivating and preparing native plants for restoration activities.
During the planting season, many tasks need to be carried out. These include digging out young trees from the nursery, preparing new planting beds, collecting and preparing cuttings, transporting and preparing trees for planting in designated areas, and finally planting them in the field.
This season brought an additional challenge: flooding. A major flood occurred in November 2025, followed by another in January this year. Unfortunately, many of the trees planted during the first Planting Week in November did not survive, as they had been planted too close to the riverbank and were washed away by the floodwaters.
This experience provided important lessons. For the second Planting Week, planting areas were selected further away from the river and at slightly higher elevations. New plots were prepared, where more than 3,000 willows and poplars—two native species typical for the region—were planted.
The Planting Week was organized by EcoAlbania in cooperation with RiverWatch, with the support of Patagonia. We would like to thank all participants for their dedication and support. Their contribution made this week both successful and meaningful.
