Restoring an Ancient Landscape - Through Community & Carbon

Restoring an Ancient Landscape - Through Community & Carbon is a large-scale environmental planting project located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The project sites are dispersed across a broad agricultural landscape north of the Stirling Range National Park, with key locations near the towns of Gnowangerup, Cranbrook, and Ongerup. The project is situated approximately 100 to 150 kilometers north and northeast of the regional city of Albany. Registered in June 2021, the project encompasses a total area of 9,320 hectares.

The region is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and dry, warm summers, typically receiving between 350mm and 500mm of annual rainfall. The landscape consists of ancient, highly weathered soils, often featuring sandy loams over clay (duplex soils) and ironstone gravels. This area is heavily utilized for broadacre cropping (wheat, barley, canola) and sheep grazing. However, the project targets "marginal" land within these farming systems, areas that may be less productive due to issues like salinity or waterlogging, to restore them with native vegetation.

The project operates under the "Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings" methodology. This involves establishing permanent plantings of mixed native tree and shrub species (such as Eucalyptus and Melaleuca) at densities sufficient to achieve forest cover. Unlike commercial forestry, these plantings are not intended for harvest; their primary purpose is to sequester carbon and restore local ecosystems.

A notable feature of this project is its collaborative nature. It is a partnership involving the proponent Native Carbon Pty Ltd, regional conservation groups like North Stirlings Pallinup Natural Resources (NSPNR) and the Gillamii Centre, and restoration experts Threshold Environmental. The initiative is partly supported by Western Australian State NRM funding and aligns with the broader conservation goals of the "Gondwana Link," a macro-corridor project aiming to reconnect fragmented habitats across southwestern Australia.