Freemans Forest Community Carbon Pilot

Freemans Forest Community Carbon Pilot is a small-scale environmental planting project located in the Atherton Tablelands region of Far North Queensland. It is situated specifically on Cutler Road, adjoining the Lake Eacham National Park, approximately 5km east of the town of Yungaburra. Registered in March 2017, the project covers a pilot area of just 1.66 hectares within the Freemans Forest Nature Refuge.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM methodology. While the method category includes "Mallee," this specific project involves a permanent mixed-species environmental planting designed to mimic the local rainforest ecosystem. The planting density is typically high to ensure canopy closure, consistent with restoring the "Mabi" (Type 5b) rainforest vegetation characteristic of the area. The project was established as a strategic trial by the community group TREAT (Trees for the Evelyn and Atherton Tablelands), Terrain NRM, and the landholder to document the logistics and costs of carbon farming, testing if small-scale biodiversity plantings could be economically viable for local landholders.

The Atherton Tablelands region is renowned for its high rainfall and fertile volcanic (basalt) soils, which historically supported extensive dairy farming, grazing, and cropping before conservation efforts increased. The site itself was previously cleared agricultural land. The property, Freemans Forest, was bequeathed to the South Endeavour Trust by the late Ian Freeman for conservation purposes and is frequently used for community educational workshops on tree planting and site preparation.