Overview
- Queen Sofía visited Rubiá (Ourense) and Folgoso do Courel (Lugo) on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, to inspect restoration works paid for under a Fundación Reina Sofía–Xunta de Galicia agreement.
- The foundation contributed €65,000 to two targeted projects: a €50,000 rehabilitation of a traditional stone alvariza in the Serra da Enciña da Lastra and a 1.37-hectare replanting of mixed native broadleaves to replace a burned century-old chestnut stand in Vilar.
- The works were carried out by the Xunta with local partners and are sited inside protected areas, including the Parque Natural da Serra da Enciña da Lastra and the Reserva de la Biosfera Ribeira Sacra e Serras do Oribio e Courel.
- Local officials say the small, focused investment is being combined with regional and European funds to reach larger project budgets and to create local benefits such as restored access, apitourism use of the recovered alvariza, and new tree cover for community woodlands.
- The visit underscores a symbolic, hands-on approach to post-fire recovery while also highlighting the gap between the scale of these interventions and the roughly 118,966 hectares burned in Galicia in 2025, which points to the need for continued, sustained restoration efforts.