Planteurs Volontaires

What Planteurs Volontaires does

Planteurs Volontaires is a French non-profit association (loi 1901), founded in October 2013 and headquartered at MRES in Lille, that operates participatory tree and hedgerow planting projects across the Hauts-de-France region. The association serves farmers, local authorities, companies, schools, and the general public by financing, designing, and executing planting projects that address the loss of 70% of French hedgerows since 1950 and ongoing annual destruction running approximately 8 times replanting rates since 2017. Core capabilities include diagnostic and project design, multi-year technical follow-up, citizen mobilization for planting events, and professional training on hedgerow management. The association is also the referent for the Végétal Local traceability brand, which guarantees genetic diversity and regional adaptation of plant material, and serves as an administrator of AFAC Agroforesteries at both national and Hauts-de-France levels.

The organization's business model is non-commercial, funded through individual donations (eligible for 66% French income tax deduction), annual membership fees, corporate patronage under the Loi Aillagon framework (60% corporate tax reduction), and institutional grants from public bodies including Région Hauts-de-France, France Relance, Fonds Vert, Agence de l'Eau Artois-Picardie, DREAL Hauts-de-France, departmental councils, and multiple corporate foundations. Planting services are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries; participants register via the HelloAsso platform and the association's website. Distribution is direct and field-based: participatory planting events are open to the public, while projects with farmers and territorial authorities are co-developed under formal conventions with multi-year technical support.

Over 11 planting seasons the association has executed 498 projects, planted 341,637 trees and shrubs, established 160+ kilometers of hedgerows, and converted 103 hectares to agroforestry, mobilizing 13,776 volunteers. The 2025-2026 season alone accounted for 72 funded projects, 35,236 trees, 23.3 km of hedgerows, 6.5 hectares of intra-parcel agroforestry, and 1,828 volunteers. The team consists of 6 employees led by Director and co-founder Thierry Luisin, Deputy Director Jennifer Charon, and President Marie-France Wojciechowski, with operational, agricultural, communications, and agroforestry technician roles supporting the program.

Name

Planteurs Volontaires

Legal name

Association Les Planteurs Volontaires

Website

https://planteurs-volontaires.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Planteurs Volontaires is a French non-profit association founded in 2013 in Lille that mobilizes citizens, farmers, local authorities, and corporate partners to fund and execute participatory tree and hedgerow planting projects across the Hauts-de-France region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Restoration Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (115310), Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (1132)

SIC

Forestry (800), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Regeneration & Reforestation Operations (Site Prep, Planting, Seeding) (AFAMAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Native Species & Restoration Plant Nurseries (AFAMADAF), Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD), Tree Planting & Establishment Services (Manual/Mechanized) (AFAMACAE)

Keywords

• Participatory tree planting
• Hedgerow restoration
• Agroforestry services
• Bocage ecosystem creation
• Citizen mobilization planting

Headquarters

HQ city

Lille

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations from individuals: Individual donors make one-time or regular donations to support planting projects. Donors receive a 66% tax deduction on their income tax under French law.
2. Membership fees: Annual membership fees charged to supporters. Members gain voting rights in the general assembly and can actively participate in the association's governance.
3. Corporate patronage and sponsorship: Companies sponsor planting projects as patrons, benefiting from the 'Loi Aillagon' tax incentive allowing a 60% reduction of the donated amount from corporate income tax.
4. Institutional grants and subsidies: Funding from public bodies including Region Hauts-de-France, government ministries, departmental councils, metropolitan areas, and European funds such as France Relance and Fonds Vert.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Planteurs Volontaires organizes participatory tree and hedgerow planting projects that mobilize citizen volunteers, alongside technical advisory, financial support for plant material, and multi-year follow-up for farmers and local authorities. It also delivers professional training on hedgerow management and agroecological practices, and develops the Végétal Local brand for traceable, genetically diverse regional wild plant material used in ecosystem restoration.

Product overview

Planteurs Volontaires is a non-profit association (loi 1901) offering a unified service centered on participatory tree and hedgerow planting projects across Hauts-de-France. The core offering combines citizen mobilization for planting events, technical support for farmers and local authorities, and professional training on sustainable hedgerow management. The organization also develops complementary programs including the Végétal Local brand for wild plant material traceability and agroforestry development through the AFAC network. No commercial products or software platforms are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Participatory Planting Projects (Chantiers de plantation participatifs) Citizen-participatory tree and hedgerow planting events that mobilize volunteers from all backgrounds — families, students, retirees, employees, and school groups — to plant trees in agricultural and urban areas across Hauts-de-France.
• Technical Support for Farmers (Accompagnement des agriculteurs) Technical support and financial assistance for farmers in Hauts-de-France covering hedgerow creation, restoration, and agroforestry projects, including diagnostic expertise, species selection advice, financial support for plant purchases, and multi-year follow-up to ensure project durability.
• Végétal Local — Traceable Wild Plant Material Brand Development of the Végétal Local brand, a traceability tool for wild and local plant materials ensuring genetic diversity and ecosystem restoration suitability; the association serves as the regional referent for this national brand in Hauts-de-France.
• Professional Training (Formations) Training sessions for farmers, local authorities, and technicians on hedgerow management, sustainable tree pruning, and agroecological practices, delivered under the association's "Savoir-faire" expertise pillar.
• Agroforestry Development Services Development of agroforestry practices combining trees and crops on the same land, supported through the association's role as administrator of AFAC Agroforesteries National and co-founder/administrator of AFAC Agroforesteries Hauts-de-France.

Quantifiable outcome

• 341,637 trees and shrubs planted across 498 projects in 11 seasons
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe metropolitan authority operates under a formal convention with Planteurs Volontaires for territorial planting and agroforestry projects, contributing both funding and project coordination within its jurisdiction.
• Communauté Urbaine d'ArrasmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe urban community of Arras is under a convention with the association for territorial tree-planting and environmental projects.
• Communauté d'Agglomération Maubeuge Val de SambremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe inter-municipal structure has a formal convention with Planteurs Volontaires for planting projects within its territory.
• La Voix du NordminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional newspaper serves as media partner, covering planting events and projects, amplifying visibility of the association's activities.
• Réseau Haies FrancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational hedgerow network of which Planteurs Volontaires is a member, contributing to policy advocacy and best practice sharing for hedgerow restoration.
• AFAC AgroforesteriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlanteurs Volontaires serves as an administrator for both the national AFAC Agroforesteries and its Hauts-de-France regional branch, a co-founding role that positions the association at the center of French agroforestry policy and practice.
• Valenciennes MétropolemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMetropolitan area developing agroforestry and planting projects under a convention with the association.
• HelloAssomajorTechnology or IntegrationOnline platform used for membership registration, event sign-ups, and donation processing, with integrated tax deduction management for donors.
• La Ville de LillemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Lille partners with the association for urban tree-planting projects including the Citadelle de Lille wooded strips, providing both site access and co-funding.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Treedom: Italy-based platform that lets individuals and companies sponsor the planting of trees tracked via blockchain; comparable in the participatory tree-planting, corporate-sponsorship, and remote-tracking mechanics that increasingly differentiate citizen-engagement reforestation players.
• Tree-Nation: Geneva-based platform enabling individuals and companies to plant and track trees in reforestation projects worldwide; directly comparable in the citizen/corporate tree-sponsorship mechanics and project-tracking approach, though with a global rather than French-regional scope.
• One Tree Planted: US-headquartered nonprofit that partners with companies and individuals to fund reforestation projects globally; highly comparable in the corporate-partnership-driven, project-funded, volunteer-supported reforestation model, though at a global rather than regional scale.
• Reforest'action: French nonprofit corporate-funded reforestation platform that finances tree-planting projects across France; operates a partner/sponsor model with companies and landowners and is explicitly listed as a co-funder of Planteurs Volontaires hedgerow projects, making it the closest direct peer in mission, model, and territory.
• Pur Projet: French company specializing in large-scale reforestation and agroforestry projects with corporate partners (e.g., Michelin, L'Oréal), combining technical agroforestry expertise with citizen mobilization; very similar service offering and partnership model to Planteurs Volontaires, operating across multiple regions of France and internationally.

Broad incumbents

• Ecosia: Berlin-based search engine that uses its profits to fund reforestation projects worldwide; comparable in mission (trees as a measurable outcome) but operates as a broad-incumbent consumer-tech business that funds tree planting through search ad revenue rather than running participatory planting programs itself.

Emerging players

• Plant-for-the-Planet: Global youth-led initiative that runs participatory tree-planting programs and counts restored trees across continents; overlaps with Planteurs Volontaires in the citizen-volunteer planting model but operates at global scale with a different funding and awareness approach.

Others

• Réseau Haies France: National hedgerow network of which Planteurs Volontaires is itself a member; not a competitor but the policy and technical backbone for hedgerow restoration in France, providing knowledge sharing, advocacy, and standards that the association draws on.
• AFAC Agroforesteries: National French agroforesty network in which Planteurs Volontaires is an administrator; functions as an enabling/ecosystem organization rather than a direct operator, but the two organizations are tightly coupled in policy and project execution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCw2Cs2lcgp4Xhw-SNt6aoWg
• Facebookfacebook.com/planteursvolontairesnpdc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/planteurs-volontaires
• Instagraminstagram.com/planteursvolontaires

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Planteurs Volontaires