Westmere Regeneration Project

The Westmere Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on the 'Westmere' pastoral station, approximately 25km northwest of the small township of Louth and roughly 100km southwest of Bourke in western New South Wales. Registered in September 2015, this extensive project covers 29,125 hectares within the Mulga Lands bioregion, an area historically synonymous with vast sheep and cattle grazing operations.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves changing land management practices to allow suppressed native forests to recover. In this region, native vegetation, typically Mulga (Acacia aneura) and shrublands, is often suppressed by continuous livestock grazing and feral animals. By managing the timing and extent of grazing and actively controlling feral species, the project aims to facilitate the natural regeneration of native forest from in-situ seed sources, rootstock, and lignotubers, ultimately achieving a forest cover with at least 20% crown density and 2 meters in height.

Environmentally, the Westmere area is classified as semi-arid, characterized by low and variable rainfall (averaging 300-350mm annually) and hot summers. The terrain consists of flat to undulating plains with red sandy loam and red earth soils, typical of the "Back O' Bourke" country. The project is managed by the Parker family with support from carbon service provider Climate Friendly. Notably, the project area underwent administrative variations in 2016, with specific land parcels being added and removed to refine the carbon estimation area.