Bally Castle Regeneration Project

Bally Castle Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at "Ballycastle" station, a pastoral property approximately 115km west of Bourke in the far-west outback of New South Wales. The project was registered in July 2015 by proponent Richard Andrew Nielsen, with Climate Friendly Pty Ltd acting as the project agent. It covers a substantial project area of 24,349.27 hectares. In August 2015, an area variation was submitted to formally amend the specific land boundaries included in the project.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects aim to establish permanent, even-aged native forests by ceasing activities that suppress native vegetation. The standard requirements for this methodology involve changing land management practices to allow native trees to regenerate from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, until they achieve permanent true forest cover. The Bally Castle project specifically accomplishes this through the controlled management of the timing and extent of livestock grazing, alongside the humane management of feral animals.

The Bourke region is classified as semi-arid with historically low rainfall. The surrounding environment is characterised by red dirt landscapes, sandy dune swales, and ephemeral saline lake systems. The Ballycastle property itself features "Taylors Lake," a relatively deep hypsosaline lake set in a hollow among the local sand dunes. General land use in this remote area is almost entirely focused on extensive agricultural grazing, primarily sheep and cattle.

The Nielsen family has operated Ballycastle as a red dirt sheep property for multiple generations. Prior to the commencement of the carbon project, the designated project land had been historically cleared of vegetation, and natural regrowth had been actively suppressed by livestock and feral animals for at least 10 years. The implementation of this carbon project provides an important alternative revenue stream for the property. This is particularly valuable given the harsh seasonal drought conditions in the region, which occasionally force the Nielsens to truck their sheep away to areas like Walgett on agistment.