Greening Australia and Canopy Nature Based Solutions: National Reforestation Program 2022

Greening Australia and Canopy Nature Based Solutions: National Reforestation Program 2022 is an aggregated environmental planting project distributed across multiple sites in Australia. These locations include sites roughly 80km south of Canberra near Bredbo in the Cooma-Monaro region (NSW), near Warragul and Sale in the Gippsland region (VIC), close to Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula (SA), and in the Kent Shire roughly 300km southeast of Perth (WA). It was registered in June 2022 and covers a combined 1,646.20 hectares.

Environmental planting projects under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings (FullCAM) methodology involve establishing permanent plantings of mixed native trees and shrubs. A standard requirement for these projects is to plant at a sufficient stocking density, typically at least 200 stems per hectare, to achieve a forest canopy cover of at least 20% and a height of two metres at maturity.

Given the project's national scope, regional land use and environmental conditions vary significantly across the sites. The Victorian locations in the Baw Baw and Wellington shires experience high rainfall and feature fertile loam and clay soils, historically supporting intensive dairy and cattle farming. The Streaky Bay and Kent Shire locations sit in semi-arid zones with lower rainfall and sandy-loam soils, predominantly used for broadacre wheat cropping and sheep grazing. The Cooma-Monaro sites feature moderate rainfall and basalt-derived soils, supporting widespread sheep and cattle grazing.

This program was set up by Canopy Nature Based Solutions to establish permanent native plantings on land that was extensively cleared and primarily used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior. The tree species chosen are strictly native to each local area. Notably, biodiversity-focused Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by native habitat restoration, such as those re-establishing koala habitats, have recently attracted strong market attention and traded at a premium.