Widgiwah Planting Project

The Widgiwah Planting Project is an environmental planting project located in the Trawool and Whiteheads Creek district, approximately 15km east of Seymour in central Victoria. Registered in January 2021, the project covers 367.41 hectares of land previously used for agriculture. The project is situated within the Mitchell Shire, a region traditionally dominated by sheep and cattle grazing, with a growing presence of equine industries and boutique vineyards.

Environmental planting projects under the Carbon Farming Initiative involve establishing permanent native vegetation to sequester carbon. The specific methodology used here, Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings (FullCAM), typically requires planting native species at a density of at least 200 stems per hectare to achieve forest cover. This project specifically focuses on permanent mixed-species plantings native to the local area, designed to restore biodiversity on land that had been used for grazing or cropping for at least five years prior.

The environment in the Trawool and Seymour region is characterized by a temperate climate with moderate rainfall, averaging approximately 600mm annually. The local topography is often undulating with granitic outcrops, particularly near the Trawool Valley. Soils in the Whiteheads Creek area are generally described as sandy clay loams or granitic soils, which can be of variable quality but are well-suited to native pasture and timber regeneration.

Notably, the project has undergone administrative changes since its inception. In December 2023, the proponent changed from the Lisa Jane Mount Rose Trust Pty Ltd to LRX Projects Pty Ltd, alongside a variation that removed certain areas from the project's scope. The project is managed with the assistance of Covalent Land Australia Pty Ltd.