This year, seven indigenous communities and seven ejidos (communal properties) that live in and around the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) reforested 90.58 hectares with 32,523 trees. The trees were grown and maintained in 18 school nurseries, eight community nurseries, and two nurseries located at Alternare’s training center. Seven hundred fifty-six people took care of maintaining the nurseries to have the seedlings ready and actively participated in the tree planting.
Several species of pine trees (Pinus pseudostrobus, Pinus devoniana, Pinus oocarpa, Pinus ayacahuite, Pinus teocote, Pinus herrerae and Pinus leiophylla) were planted on the MBBR’s buffer zone along with ash (Fraxinus), alder (Alnusa cuminata), oyamel (Abies religiosa) and oak (Quercus). The tree nurseries were maintained by teachers, students, community members, and Alternare’s team.
Map of Reforestation Sites 2026
Training and collection of seedlings
During this reporting period, the training process for the collection and processing of pine seedlings was held. This process strengthens the capacities of the local nurseries supported by Alternare and aims to reproduce all the native tree species present in the MBBR forests. We seek to contribute to maintaining the diversity of native species, considering that most nurseries currently concentrate their production on only two species due to their market value for timber.
To this end, from the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026, a brigade from the indigenous community of Carpinteros was trained in seed collection techniques. As a result of this process, it was possible to obtain germplasm of seven species and varieties of pine present in the forests of the Reserve,
The germplasm collected is a reservoir of genetic material that will be used to strengthen plant production in the school and community nurseries that will be installed during 2026. The plants produced in these nurseries will be destined for the reforestation actions planned for 2027, thus contributing to the recovery and conservation of the diversity of native species of the MBBR.
