'North Capel Carbon Project - Phase 1

North Capel Carbon Project - Phase 1 is a permanent mixed-species environmental planting project located near Capel in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately 30km south of the major city of Bunbury. It was registered in January 2024 and covers an area of 77 hectares.

Environmental planting projects involve establishing permanent plantings of tree and shrub species that are native to the local area. Under standard methodology requirements for the FullCAM method, these projects typically require planting at a stocking density of at least 200 stems per hectare to ensure adequate forest cover is achieved.

The Capel region is traditionally known for its agricultural land use, including dairy and cattle grazing, alongside significant heavy mineral sands mining and processing operations. The environment features a Mediterranean climate with moderate to high winter rainfall, and the local soils generally consist of coastal sands and sandy loams over clay.

This project is notable as it is operated by Western Mineral Sands Proprietary Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global critical minerals company Iluka Resources. The company partnered with Canopy Nature Based Solutions to convert company-owned agricultural land into a biodiverse forest in order to generate carbon credits. Set up to partially offset Iluka's operational carbon emissions as part of its decarbonisation strategy, the project area was fenced to prevent uncontrolled grazing and the soil was prepared using Iluka's specialised rehabilitation machinery, known as the "Flora Restorer", prior to planting.