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

Greening Australia and Canopy Nature Based Solutions: National Reforestation Program 2022 is a large-scale, aggregated environmental planting project registered in June 2022. Rather than being confined to a single property, this project operates as a "program of works" spanning multiple states, covering a total area of approximately 1,646 hectares. The project sites are geographically dispersed, with specific locations identified in the Western Australian Wheatbelt (near Kukerin), the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia (near Wudinna), the Monaro region of New South Wales (near Michelago), and the Gippsland region of Victoria (near Sale and Warragul).

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM methodology. This involves establishing permanent native vegetation, typically a mix of trees and shrubs native to the specific local area, on land that was previously cleared and used for agriculture (such as grazing or cropping) for at least five years. Unlike commercial forestry, these plantings are not intended for harvest; their primary purpose is carbon sequestration and biodiversity restoration. Standard requirements for this methodology generally mandate planting at a density sufficient to achieve "forest cover" (typically a potential height of at least 2 meters and canopy cover of at least 20%) using the FullCAM model to calculate carbon abatement.

Due to the project's national scope, the environmental conditions vary significantly across the distinct sites. The Western Australian and South Australian sites are located in semi-arid agricultural zones characterized by lower rainfall, sandy or calcareous soils, and land use dominated by cereal cropping and sheep grazing. In contrast, the Victorian sites in Gippsland are situated in a high-rainfall zone with fertile soils often used for dairy, beef, and forestry. The New South Wales site lies in the Southern Tablelands, a cool-temperate region with granite-derived soils traditionally used for merino wool and cattle production.

An interesting aspect of this project is its likely connection to major corporate sustainability partnerships. Canopy Nature Based Solutions is a dedicated arm of the non-profit Greening Australia, established to manage environmental credit markets. This "National Reforestation Program" appears to facilitate large-scale corporate "insetting" or offset commitments, such as the "AZ Forest" initiative (AstraZeneca) and partnerships with Nestlé, which aim to plant tens of millions of trees across Australia to restore critical habitats like Drooping Sheoak woodlands and reduce salinity while generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).