Orchid Valley Pine project 2019

Orchid Valley Pine project 2019 is a plantation forestry project located in the Orchid Valley region of Western Australia, approximately 40km south-west of Kojonup and 240km south-east of Perth. It was registered in May 2018 and originally covers 3669.76 ha.

Plantation forestry projects sequester carbon by establishing a new plantation forest or by converting an existing short-rotation plantation forest to a long-rotation plantation forest. These projects manage the trees to capture carbon in growing biomass while allowing for the commercial harvesting of wood products.

The Orchid Valley area, spanning the Shires of Kojonup and Boyup Brook, is historically known for broadacre cropping, sheep grazing, and commercial forestry operations. The region features a Mediterranean climate with medium to high winter-dominant rainfall, averaging 500-700mm annually. The soils in this landscape are generally lateritic and duplex, consisting of loamy and sandy gravels over clay subsoils.

This project was established by The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as trustee for Forestry Investment Trust, alongside Allison Blair, to generate carbon credits through the commercial harvesting and extended rotation of wood products. Over its lifetime, the project has undergone multiple area variations, with new land areas added in March 2020 and April 2021, and specific areas successfully removed from the project in September 2024.