Opening pathsinto the future.

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Our Raison d'être

Veredas da Estrela^* is a community association, founded after the 2022 wildfires that devastated 25% of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park in Central Portugal. We are based in the mountain villages of Figueiró da Serra and Freixo da Serra.

We want to create living communities and ecosystems more resilient to forest fires, and thus prepare our villages for the future while being an example for others.

Do you want to help us prevent fires and restore ecosystems? Come and participate in one of our next actions! Or support our Crowdfunding campaign and become a member of Veredas da Estrela.

^*Literally: paths of Estrela. Veredas, locally called bredas, are trails, created and used by human and/or wildlife. The designation originates from proto-celtic uɸorēdos, with manifold derivations in European languages.

Our Motivation

I like to be part of something involving the community and it's future, connecting past and present. To recover memories, transforming them into something new.

Rafaela

I have always enjoyed planting and caring for my land, but I enjoy even more having a group come together to keep the land clean and wooded, to reclaim trails and to socialise.

Arménio

I want to do more for the ecosystem, for biodiversity, and for our environment. And I really like to participate activities that care about sustainability and future generations.

Ana

I want to leave something better for the future, for these two villages to have hiking trails, a sound environment, proper fire safety, and a good quality of life in general.

Júlio

Last summer's fires gave me the final push: I want to tackle the root of the problem. And it motivates me even more to work together towards goals that belong to everyone!

Corinna

Our goals

Activities 2023 (Portuguese)

Preserve & regenerate

Ecosystem preservation

We want to preserve and regenerate ecosystems in the territories of Figueiró and Freixo da Serra and in the Serra da Estrela.

Prevention & intervention

Fire prevention

We want to improve prevention and first intervention in the event of forest fires.

Constituting Assembly of the Veredas association

Community building

Lively villages

We want to carry out activities that contribute to making the villages and communities even more alive.

Serra da Estrela, local Bordaleira sheep

Sustainable grazing

Traditional sheep-farming

For sustainable land management, we want to encourage and stimulate the traditional extensive agro-silva-pastoral activity.

Get in touch

Veredas da Estrela Association for the Future of the Communities of Figueiró da Serra & Freixo da Serra

Rua da Portela s/n, 6290-071 Figueiró da Serra, Gouveia

NIPC PT517266431

ola@veredasdaestrela.pt

Any questions or curiosities? Please get in touch with us by email or by joining one of our activities. Upcoming events will be posted on our Facebook page and for the bigger picture, a yearly calendar is available through our Activities Plan (Portuguese).

You can consult the § articles of our association here (Portuguese).

And, of course, we invite you to become a member of Veredas!