Greening Australia and Canopy Nature Based Solutions: SA Reforestation Program 2024

Greening Australia and Canopy Nature Based Solutions: SA Reforestation Program 2024 is an environmental planting project located in the Murraylands region of South Australia. The project area spans approximately 980 hectares, with sites situated roughly 15 to 45 kilometers east of the major regional center of Murray Bridge, near localities such as Ettrick and Perponda. Registered in April 2024, the project operates on land historically used for dryland agriculture, specifically grazing and cropping, which is the dominant land use in this "Mallee" country.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings methodology. This type of carbon project involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree and shrub species, strictly those indigenous to the local area, on land that has been clear of forest cover for at least five years. The methodology typically requires planting at a density sufficient to achieve forest cover (often defined as at least 200 stems per hectare) and uses the FullCAM model to estimate carbon sequestration over a 25 or 100-year permanence period.

Ecologically, the region is characterized by a semi-arid Mediterranean climate with average annual rainfall ranging between 300mm and 450mm. The terrain typically consists of undulating sandhills and flats with soil types ranging from sandy loams to non-wetting sands and calcareous soils, commonly associated with Mallee vegetation. These conditions support the "Mallee" plantings specified in the methodology, which are well-adapted to the sandy, low-rainfall environment.

A notable feature of this project is the proponent structure; Canopy Nature Based Solutions is the commercial arm of the non-profit Greening Australia. This partnership model is designed to leverage Greening Australia’s decades of ecological restoration expertise, ensuring high biodiversity integrity and "nature positive" outcomes, while Canopy manages the environmental credit generation and market compliance.