Gardens of Stone Environmental Plantings (Carbon) Project

Gardens of Stone Environmental Plantings (Carbon) Project is a significant environmental restoration initiative located approximately 15 kilometers northeast of Lithgow, New South Wales. Registered in July 2023, the project covers 1,217 hectares within the bounds of the recently gazetted Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area. The region is historically characterized by a mix of forestry, coal mining, and grazing activities, which interfaces with the rugged natural beauty of the western Blue Mountains.

The project operates under the Environmental Plantings methodology, which involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree species on land that was previously cleared and used for agricultural purposes, such as grazing, for at least five years. To generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), the project must maintain a stocking density sufficient to achieve forest cover, typically requiring at least 200 stems per hectare, and ensure the plantings are permanent.

Environmentally, the site sits on the western edge of the Sydney Basin, an area renowned for its dramatic sandstone "pagoda" rock formations and high floral diversity. The terrain features montane sand dunes and high-altitude plateaus, with soils generally consisting of sandstone-derived sandy loams. Rainfall in the Lithgow and Newnes Plateau region is moderate to high, supporting a transition zone between temperate eucalypt forests and drier western woodland communities.

A key feature of this project is its integration into the management of the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area, which was created in 2022 by transferring former State Forest lands (such as Newnes and Ben Bullen) into the national park estate. The project aims to rehabilitate areas within the park that were historically disturbed by agricultural grazing or forestry operations, using carbon market revenue to fund the restoration of these landscapes back to native woodland.