North Stirling Downs Project

North Stirling Downs Project is a permanent mixed-species environmental planting project located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, near Gnowangerup and the Stirling Range, approximately 380 km south-east of Perth. It was registered in July 2020 and covers an area of 198.23 ha.

Environmental planting projects involve establishing permanent plantings of mixed native tree species on land that was predominantly used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to project commencement. A standard requirement of this methodology is achieving a minimum stocking density, generally 200 stems per hectare, to ensure a native forest cover is formed using species endemic to the local area.

The Gnowangerup area is primarily known for mixed farming enterprises, specifically broadacre cropping of wheat, barley, and canola, alongside sheep grazing for wool and meat. The region experiences a semi-arid, Mediterranean climate with an average annual winter-dominant rainfall of approximately 300 to 350 mm. Soils in this agricultural zone are highly variable, ranging from sand and duplex soils (such as sand over gravel) to heavier red and grey clays.

This project is operated by Wayne and Jody Pech on their 13,000-hectare family farm, with the overarching goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030. Working alongside Outback Carbon, the Pech family committed to planting 100 hectares of trees per year over a decade, planning to hold onto the generated Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to offset their own agricultural emissions rather than selling them. The project underwent a variation in September 2024 to remove some listed areas, and in August 2025, the proponent name was officially varied from AgCarbon 2020 Pty Ltd to North Stirling Downs Pty Ltd.