Carbon Positive Biodiverse Plantings

Carbon Positive Biodiverse Plantings is an aggregated environmental planting project operated by the charity Carbon Positive Australia Ltd. Registered in June 2021, the project encompasses approximately 2,170 hectares across multiple distinct sites in Western Australia and New South Wales. The project sites are geographically dispersed, including locations near Nimbin in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, Eurardy Reserve near Kalbarri in WA's Mid West, and properties near Cranbrook and the Stirling Range in WA's Great Southern region.

This project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings methodology, which involves establishing permanent native forests on land previously cleared for agriculture. The primary activity is the planting of mixed native species to restore local ecosystems, with a specific focus on biodiversity co-benefits alongside carbon sequestration. For instance, the Nimbin site involves restoring habitat on former cattle grazing land to link corridors for Koalas, while the Western Australian sites often focus on fragmented landscapes in the biodiversity hotspot of the Southwest, aiming to support species like the Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo and the Western Pygmy Possum.

The environmental conditions vary significantly across the project's aggregated areas. The NSW site near Lismore and Nimbin is characterized by a subtropical climate with high rainfall and fertile volcanic or alluvial soils, supporting rapid vegetation growth. In contrast, the Western Australian sites in the Great Southern and Mid West regions experience a Mediterranean to semi-arid climate with winter-dominant rainfall. Soils in these WA regions are typically sandy duplexes or gravels, and some project areas, such as those near Cranbrook, may also address land degradation issues like dryland salinity.

Carbon Positive Australia (formerly the Carbon Neutral Charitable Fund) is a registered charity that often utilizes such projects to generate offsets for voluntary surrender or to help individuals and organizations minimize their carbon footprint. The organization has highlighted that the Nimbin planting alone involved over 69,000 seedlings. The project faced early operational challenges, including delays at the NSW site due to the severe flooding events in the Northern Rivers region in early 2022.