Carbon Positive Biodiverse Plantings

Carbon Positive Biodiverse Plantings is an aggregated permanent mixed-species environmental planting project spanning multiple sites across Western Australia and New South Wales. Registered in June 2021 by Regenerate Australia Ltd (operating as the charity Carbon Positive Australia Ltd), the project covers a combined area of 2,170.65 hectares. Because it is an aggregated project, the planting areas are dispersed across three distinct regions: the Mid West of WA (approximately 100km north of Geraldton in the Shire of Northampton), the Great Southern of WA (near Mount Barker, roughly 50km north of Albany in the Shire of Plantagenet), and the Northern Rivers of NSW (surrounding the major regional city of Lismore).

Environmental planting projects involve establishing permanent plantings of native tree species on land that has been previously cleared for agricultural purposes. To meet the standard methodology requirements, the selected tree species must be planted at a sufficient density (typically at least 200 stems per hectare) to eventually achieve a continuous forest canopy cover of at least 20% and reach a mature height of two meters or more.

Given the project's broad geographic spread, the environmental conditions and historic land uses vary significantly between the sites. The Lismore region in NSW experiences a subtropical, high-rainfall climate with rich volcanic, clay, and basalt soils. The surrounding land is predominantly used for intensive cropping, dairy, and beef grazing. In contrast, the Western Australian sites feature Mediterranean climates with a strong reliance on winter rainfall. The Northampton area consists largely of sandy and loamy soils heavily used for broadacre wheat cropping and sheep grazing, while the Plantagenet region features loamy and gravelly soils supporting mixed agriculture, grazing, and viticulture.

This project was established to sequester carbon while simultaneously restoring local biodiversity by exclusively planting tree species that are naturally native to each respective local area. The proponent has committed to a 100-year permanence period, ensuring long-term environmental protection and habitat restoration. Additionally, variations were officially approved in January and June 2022 to expand the project boundaries by incorporating new planting areas.