North Stirling Downs Project

North Stirling Downs Project is a permanent mixed-species environmental planting project located near Gnowangerup in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately 100km north of Albany and 350km south-east of Perth. It was registered in July 2020 and initially covered a project area of 198.23ha.

Environmental planting projects under the 2014 FullCAM methodology involve planting native trees at a density sufficient to achieve forest cover, typically a height of at least 2 metres and 20% crown cover at maturity, on land that was predominantly cleared and used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to commencement. The tree species must be native to the local area.

The Gnowangerup and North Stirlings area is widely known for mixed farming enterprises, predominantly featuring self-replacing merino sheep flocks alongside broadacre cropping of wheat, barley, canola, and pulses. The region experiences a semi-arid, winter-dominant rainfall climate, receiving an average of around 300 to 350mm annually. Soils across this area are highly variable, typically consisting of sand to duplex soils, sand over gravel, as well as red and grey clays.

Operated by Wayne and Jody Pech across their 13,000-hectare family enterprise, this project was established as part of a commitment to plant 100 hectares of trees annually over a decade to help the farm achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Interestingly, the Pech family intends to retain the generated Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to offset their own agricultural emissions rather than selling them on the open market. The project features a 100-year permanence period to ensure long-term carbon storage. Over its lifespan, the project underwent a variation in September 2024 to remove some of the listed areas, and in August 2025, the participant name was successfully transitioned from its original agent, AgCarbon 2020 Pty Ltd, to North Stirling Downs Pty Ltd.