Little creek carbon plus biodiversity 1127

Little creek carbon plus biodiversity 1127 is an environmental planting project located at Arnold West, approximately 6km south of St Arnaud in the Central Goldfields region of Victoria. It was registered in November 2022 and covers 8.44ha.

Environmental planting projects involve establishing a mix of native trees to create permanent forest cover. To meet the standard methodology requirements, the planting must typically reach a density sufficient to achieve at least 20% canopy cover and a height of 2 metres, which is often around 200 stems per hectare.

The St Arnaud area is heavily utilised for agricultural purposes, particularly broadacre cropping and sheep grazing. The region experiences moderate to semi-arid conditions with an average annual rainfall of 400-500mm, and soils are generally derived from sedimentary bedrock, featuring clay loams, red-brown earths, and shallow stony profiles.

This project establishes permanent plantings of locally native tree species on land that was predominantly used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to project commencement. The proponent, Wombat & the Kid Pty Ltd, received a $13,750 grant through the Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot (Round 1) to support this initiative, highlighting its dual focus on carbon sequestration and restoring local native biodiversity.