Amigos dos Açores – Associação Ecológica
Amigos dos Açores – Associação Ecológica is a nature conservation NGO based in São Miguel, Azores, dedicated to protecting the region's natural heritage through environmental education, ecological restoration and community activities.
Founded to defend and value the natural environment of the Azores, Amigos dos Açores – Associação Ecológica is based in the Museum building of Pico da Pedra, in Ribeira Grande, São Miguel Island. The association's emblem, two rare Azores bullfinches (Priôlo, Pyrrhula murina), symbolises its commitment to protecting the archipelago's unique biodiversity, some of the rarest bird species in Europe found only in the Serra da Tronqueira and Ribeira do Guilherme valley.
The organisation carries out its mission through non-violent, participatory methods, combining cultural, pedagogical, scientific, sporting, recreational and social activities. Regular initiatives include guided pedestrian walks (Passeios Pedestres) across the island, annual study visits to other Azorean islands to exchange knowledge with local communities and international partners (such as a recent exchange with a Polish forest school association), and hands-on volunteer days dedicated to ecological restoration, notably at Pinhal da Paz, where volunteers help restore native habitat and share communal vegan meals.
Beyond fieldwork, the association manages educational and cultural spaces such as the Gruta do Carvão lava cave and runs an online shop supporting its activities. Its programme areas span nature activities, associativism, animal welfare, education and participation, nature photography, and natural heritage. Through these combined efforts, Amigos dos Açores continues a long-standing tradition, active since at least the late 1980s, of environmental advocacy, community engagement and biodiversity protection in the Azores.
Our Goal
To defend and enhance the natural environment of the Azores and to promote nature conservation through non-violent methods of intervention, using cultural, educational, scientific, sporting, recreational and social activities.
Our Wishes
The association welcomes new volunteers to join its ecological restoration activities, such as the ongoing work at Pinhal da Paz, and members to participate in its guided walks and study visits.
