Carbon + Biodiversity Project R2 1500: Dairy Creek

Carbon + Biodiversity Project R2 1500: Dairy Creek is an environmental planting project located in the locality of Dairy Creek, approximately 12 kilometers southwest of the town of Yea in central Victoria. Registered in May 2023, the project covers a small area of 5.36 hectares on land previously utilized for agriculture. The site sits within the Shire of Murrindindi, a region characterized by rolling hills and river valleys heavily reliant on grazing (cattle and sheep) and dispersed agro-forestry operations.

The project operates under the "Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings" methodology, which involves establishing permanent native forests on land that has been clear of forest for at least five years. Specifically, this project is part of the Australian Government's Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot (Round 2). This pilot scheme was designed to incentivize farmers to plant biodiverse native vegetation by offering "biodiversity stewardship payments" in addition to the standard Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by the carbon sequestration. The planting activities involve a mix of native tree and shrub species strictly selected to match the local vegetation communities of the Goulburn Broken catchment.

Environmentally, the Dairy Creek and Yea region enjoys a temperate climate with moderate to high rainfall, averaging around 700mm to 800mm annually, which supports reliable pasture growth and reforestation efforts. The soils in the river valleys and lower slopes are typically fertile alluvial loams or clay loams, while the surrounding hills often feature texture-contrast soils (Chromosols) with loamy topsoils over clay subsoils. These conditions are generally favorable for establishing the mixed-species environmental plantings required by the Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot protocols.