Killen Carbon Project

Killen Carbon Project is a soil organic carbon sequestration project located in Blakney Creek, a rural locality approximately 35km northeast of Yass and 70km north of Canberra in New South Wales. It was registered on April 29, 2022, with a registered project area of 142.16 hectares. The active footprint of the carbon project specifically covers 47.25 hectares of dedicated grazing land.

The Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology involves altering agricultural land management practices to capture and increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. Standard requirements for this method involve proving additionality, conducting baseline physical soil sampling, and implementing eligible new management activities that are then measured or modelled over time to verify net carbon abatement.

The Blakney Creek region's land use is predominantly mixed farming, particularly sheep and cattle grazing alongside dryland cropping. The area experiences a temperate climate with moderate rainfall typical of the South Western Slopes, while the undulating terrain generally features loamy soils well-suited for agriculture.

The project is owned and managed by husband and wife team John Lawson and Philippa Yelland on their working cattle property. The core project activities focus on applying nutrients to the land to address material deficiencies and re-establishing pasture through seeding. Specifically, the project has repurposed industrial by-products such as drinking water lime residuals, crusher dust, and AgriAsh to serve as non-synthetic fertilisers. Through these targeted soil remediation practices, the proponents have improved soil biology, extended the growing season, and successfully doubled both their pasture productivity and livestock carrying capacity. Within its first two years of operation, the Killen Carbon Project generated 1,711 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). Furthermore, John Lawson operates a sustainable soil improvement business called SoilRegen, highlighting the holistic and scientific approach taken to merge soil health with viable carbon farming.