BANYULA AUSTRALIA PROJECT

Banyula Australia Project is an environmental planting project located at Clunes in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, approximately 17km northeast of Lismore and 20km southwest of Byron Bay. It was registered in June 2022 and covers 352.89ha.

Environmental planting projects involve establishing permanent plantings of a mix of native tree species that have the potential to reach at least 2 metres in height and provide a minimum of 20% crown cover, typically planted at densities sufficient to achieve native forest cover.

The Clunes and broader Byron Shire area is known for mixed agriculture, including cattle grazing and horticulture such as macadamia farming. The region experiences high subtropical rainfall, and its soils are generally rich volcanic basalt, having originally supported the vast "Big Scrub" lowland rainforest prior to agricultural clearing.

This project is part of a broader 100-year regenerative agriculture plan on the 900-acre Banyula Farm, establishing mixed-species plantings of native trees on land that was predominantly used for agriculture for at least five years prior. The project was initially registered as the Saratini Farm Project before a name change in September 2024, and its project area was varied to remove some listed areas in January 2026. An interesting feature of the farm's broader operations is its award-winning "Owls-eat-Rats" initiative, which uses installed barn owl nest boxes to naturally control rodents and heavily reduce the need for chemical rodenticides across the property.