Who we are and what we do
Ecosystem restoration education and action to improve our bioregion.
Mud Valley Foundation is a nonprofit focused on education and action-oriented initiatives for ecosystem restoration and bioregional unity in southwestern Portugal. We work to reverse the effects of desertification in our local ecosystem to assure improved soil quality, water availability, biodiversity, and local livelihoods. Mud Valley Foundation is a part of a global network of ecosystem restoration communities engaged in regeneration efforts. We also support educational efforts in the areas of eco-social regeneration and ecosystem restoration.
Latest Updates and Blog Posts
2024 at the Soil Lab: An Excellent First Year
Learn about what our Soil Lab did in 2024. It was a year of getting started, working with the community, growing rapidly, and beginning to make an impact.
BGA Soil Day: A Customized Educational Program
BGA Soil Day was an interactive, customized educational program for students which focused on soil and the role it plays in a healthy ecosystem.
How To Choose The Right Indicators For Soil Health Testing
Learn how the Soil Lab at Mud Valley Foundation chose indicators for its soil health testing and monitoring methodology.
Visit our Blog page for all of our updates, program news, research, and other important information.
The problem
Our local ecosystem is being degraded by climate change and human actions.
Desertification is a growing problem in Mediterranean Europe, including the southwestern Algarve of Portugal, where arid and semi-arid regions are becoming increasingly vulnerable to and affected by soil degradation and loss of vegetation cover. Climate change, combined with unsustainable land use practices such as overgrazing, deforestation, intensive agriculture, and urban sprawl, is making the problem worse. Desertification has serious ecological, economic, and social consequences, including loss of biodiversity, reduced water availability and food security, and increased poverty and human migration.
Mud Valley Foundation engages in a variety of regenerative education activities to reduce the impact of climate change and human action in our local bioregion.




