Greening Australia and Canopy Nature Based Solutions: WA Restoration Program 2025

Greening Australia and Canopy Nature Based Solutions: WA Restoration Program 2025 is a large-scale aggregated environmental planting project located across multiple regions in Western Australia's South West and Wheatbelt. Registered in May 2025, the project covers a substantial area of approximately 6,402 hectares. The project operates as a partnership between Canopy Nature Based Solutions and the conservation non-profit Greening Australia, designed to restore landscape function while generating carbon credits.

The project encompasses widely dispersed sites with distinct characteristics. One primary cluster is situated near Donnybrook (approx. 15km inland), a region known for high rainfall, horticulture, and grazing. Other major sites are located near Wandering in the Wheatbelt and Pingrup in the Great Southern region. These inland areas are typified by broadacre cropping (wheat, canola) and sheep grazing. The environmental conditions vary significantly across the aggregation; the Donnybrook sites experience a wet Mediterranean climate with loamy soils, while the inland Wheatbelt sites are semi-arid with sandy duplex soils and lateritic gravels.

This project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings (FullCAM) Methodology Determination 2024. This methodology is an update to the older 2014 version, allowing for permanent plantings of native tree and shrub species to sequester carbon. Key features of the 2024 method include provisions for limited seed harvesting and clearer pathways for biodiversity enhancement (infill planting). To generate credits, the plantings must be established at a density sufficient to achieve "forest cover" status, defined as having the potential to reach 2 meters in height and 20% crown cover.

A notable aspect of this project is its focus on "high-integrity" credits with biodiversity co-benefits, a core tenet of the Canopy and Greening Australia partnership. Unlike monoculture plantations, the planting design utilizes a diverse mix of local native species intended to replicate the structure of the original vegetation communities. This approach supports local wildlife habitat and improves ecosystem resilience, potentially aligning with future biodiversity markets like the Nature Repair Market.