Future Forestry Cowwarr-Seaton Environmental Planting Pilot

Future Forestry Cowwarr-Seaton Environmental Planting Pilot is an environmental planting project located near the rural localities of Cowwarr and Seaton in the Gippsland region of Victoria, approximately 30km northeast of the major regional center of Traralgon. It was registered in November 2020 (with a later registration date variation to May 2022) and covers an area of 25.96 hectares.

Environmental planting projects under the ACCU scheme involve establishing permanent plantings of native tree and shrub species to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Under the FullCAM methodology, these projects require planting species native to the local area at a stocking density sufficient to achieve genuine forest cover, meaning the trees must have the potential to reach at least 2 metres in height and provide a minimum of 20% crown canopy cover.

The surrounding Gippsland Plains region is historically known for its agricultural land use, most prominently dairy farming, cattle grazing, and some plantation forestry. The local environment features a temperate climate with moderate to high rainfall, typically averaging between 600mm and 750mm annually. The predominant soil types in this Gippsland Basin bioregion include Sodosols and Dermosols, featuring loam and clay textures that have been extensively utilized and sometimes compacted by historical agricultural practices.

This project aims to establish permanent, mixed-species plantings of native trees on land that was predominantly used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to commencement. As a "pilot" project, it serves to demonstrate how ecological restoration can be successfully integrated into former farmland to restore natural environments while generating carbon credits for the proponent, Lawrence Group Investments Pty Ltd.