AKD-4 Vic 2022: Wheelers Hill

AKD-4 Vic 2022: Wheelers Hill is a plantation forestry project located at Wheelers Hill near Heywood, approximately 25 kilometres north of Portland in the Glenelg Shire of southwestern Victoria. It was registered in July 2023 and covers an area of 111.95 hectares.

Plantation forestry projects sequester carbon by establishing and maintaining new plantation forests intended for the commercial harvesting of wood products. Standard requirements for this methodology mandate that the trees must reach stocking densities sufficient to form a permanent forest canopy, which typically requires a minimum of 20% crown cover and a potential height of at least 2 metres.

The Heywood and Portland area is widely known for significant commercial forestry operations alongside traditional agriculture, such as sheep and cattle grazing. The region experiences a moderate climate with high annual rainfall averaging over 800 mm, and the soils are typically reasonably fertile, comprising chromosols, sandy loams, and clayey deposits conducive to timber growth.

This project was originally registered by Landari Pty Ltd but underwent a participant name variation to Associated Kiln Driers Pty Ltd (trading as AKD Softwoods) in late 2023. AKD is a major Australian-owned forestry and timber processing company. Maintaining this Wheelers Hill plantation helps secure vital local softwood timber supplies for their regional milling operations while simultaneously generating carbon offsets under the ACCU scheme.