Bundanon Trust - Landcare Living Landscape - Reforestation Program

Bundanon Trust - Landcare Living Landscape - Reforestation Program is an environmental planting project located in Illaroo, approximately 15km northwest of Nowra on the Shoalhaven River in New South Wales. It was registered in September 2015 and covers an area of 65.88 hectares.

Environmental planting projects using the CFI Reforestation Modelling Tool involve establishing permanent plantings of mixed native tree species on land that has been cleared of forest for at least five years prior to the project commencing. These trees must be native to the local area and planted at densities sufficient to achieve forest cover and maximize carbon sequestration.

The Shoalhaven region is characterised by a mild climate with moderate to high rainfall, typically receiving between 900mm to 1,500mm annually. The soils in the project area are generally a mix of highly fertile alluvial soils along the river flats and sandy loams or duplex soils on the upland slopes. Historically, the land use in this specific region has been agricultural, primarily cattle grazing and dairy farming.

Notably, this carbon project takes place on the Bundanon property, a 1,100-hectare landscape that was uniquely gifted to the Australian people by the famous artist Arthur Boyd and his wife Yvonne. The Landcare Living Landscape project was launched as an environmental and educational initiative in partnership with Landcare Australia. It aims to revegetate former grazing paddocks, eradicate invasive weeds like Lantana, increase biodiversity, and sequester carbon. To date, over 44,000 native trees have been planted across the properties, achieving canopy closure and tree heights over 10 metres, helping the Bundanon Trust work toward its net-zero energy targets.