"Morongla" Carbon + Biodiversity ID R2-1379

"Morongla" Carbon + Biodiversity ID R2-1379 is a permanent environmental planting project located in the Coolamon local government area of the Riverina region in New South Wales, situated northwest of Wagga Wagga. It was registered in August 2023 and covers a project area of 95.84 hectares.

Environmental planting projects involve establishing permanent forests using a mix of locally native tree and shrub species. Under standard scheme requirements, these native species must be planted at a sufficient density, typically at least 200 stems per hectare, to achieve a forest canopy cover of at least 20% and a height of 2 metres.

The Coolamon and broader Riverina area is a highly productive agricultural region, best known for broadacre winter cropping (such as wheat and canola) and livestock grazing. The local environment typically experiences moderate, winter-dominant rainfall. Soils in this region are predominantly texture-contrast soils like Chromosols and Sodosols, which characteristically feature sandy loam or loam topsoils sitting over clay subsoils. This project specifically establishes trees on land that was predominantly used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to the project's commencement.

An interesting note about this project is its participation in Round 2 of the Australian Government's Carbon + Biodiversity (C+B) Pilot, as denoted by the "ID R2-1379" in its name. This pilot program was designed to provide farmers with supplementary financial incentives, paying them not only for the carbon sequestered by the trees but also for the biodiversity benefits delivered to the local ecosystem. The project is managed by Frovent Pty Limited acting as the trustee for the Minchin Family Trust.