Bellaranga - Ancroft Environmental Planting Project

Bellaranga - Ancroft Environmental Planting Project is an environmental planting project located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, approximately 40 kilometers southeast of the coastal town of Dongara and 35 kilometers west of Mingenew. Registered in June 2023, the project covers 123.22 hectares of land that was historically used for agricultural purposes such as grazing or cropping. The site is situated within the broader Bellaranga aggregation, a property associated with the Shire of Morawa local government area.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings methodology. This framework involves establishing permanent native vegetation, specifically mixed species of trees or mallees, on land that has not had forest cover for at least five years prior to commencement. To generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), the planting must be stocked at a density sufficient to achieve forest cover potential, typically requiring at least 200 stems per hectare. The use of the FullCAM model allows the proponent to model carbon sequestration based on the specific growth rates of the planted species in that geographic location.

Environmentally, the region is part of the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia, characterized by a semi-arid to Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Average annual rainfall in the area ranges between 350mm and 450mm. The soil profile typically consists of sandplain soils and sandy loams, which are common in the West Midlands and Eradu sandplain systems. These soils traditionally support broadacre cropping of wheat, lupins, and canola, as well as livestock grazing.

The proponent, Global Ag Properties II Australia Pty Ltd, is an entity managed by Nuveen Natural Capital (formerly Westchester Group), a leading global manager of farmland assets. This suggests the project is an institutional investment integrating carbon farming into a large-scale commercial agricultural portfolio. The "Ancroft" designation likely refers to a specific paddock or sub-block within the larger Bellaranga station holdings.