Aligning carbon reduction with the business of farming
Within the quiet surrounds of the Riverina, Koolawarra is being rejuvenated. Some paddocks that once carried crops have been replanted with a mix of native vegetation, looking beyond the next harvest to prioritise the land’s long-term health.
The Koolawarra project demonstrates how carbon farming can work alongside longstanding agricultural practices. It is supported by a Living Carbon grant under the Primary Industries Productivity and Abatement Program.
Koolawarra is a 394-hectare property about 13 kilometres west of Henty in NSW. The landowners have set aside around 30 hectares across 4 sites to establish permanent native plant cover. They are direct seeding more than 8 Acacia species and Dodonaea, with eucalypt tube stock and once these plantings mature, they’ll provide habitat for threatened local fauna.
The revegetation will also generate Australian Carbon Credit Units, which the landowners can hold towards the farm’s carbon-neutral status or sell for additional income.
Crucially, this is still a working farm, with the carbon plantings sitting alongside grazing and a soil carbon project.
The Koolawarra difference
What makes Koolawarra’s work distinctive is the landowners’ commitment to measuring co-benefits. They are using the independent Accounting for Nature framework and developing an environmental account to monitor for improved biodiversity outcomes. This may add value to their credit units.
“Our land has been cropped for a while. We’ve had soil sampling done and realised that yields were not as good as they once were,” says landowner Virginia Leitch.
“We decided it was time to transition to a more diverse cultivation of the property. There wasn’t a lot of trees left, and cattle benefit from the shade and shelter from the wind.”
The project has also promoted local collaboration, with Riverina Local Land Services staff providing advice and support with mapping, project design, grant applications, and monitoring and reporting requirements.
We have here Koolawarra,
which is 394 hectares, approximately 13 km west of Henty.
And our rainfall, average rainfall is about 400 to 450 ml
Living Carbon is a grants program being delivered through PIPAP.
It provides landholders with financial assistance
with the aim of creating carbon plantings
that will also provide habitat for threatened local species.
So it's been cropped for quite a while and we've had soil sampling done
and realized that you know, that's produced a few problems
and the yields are perhaps not as good as they have been.
And that's the reason we decided really it was a good time to transition
into this more diverse cultivation of the property.
So the planting and then the grazing with the soil carbon project around it.
Virginia Leach was one of the first landholders
in the Riverina to successfully receive a living carbon grant
and we're really excited to see her project get underway.
So we've decided to choose four sites that we can put
approximately 30 hectares of boxgum grassy woodland into.
An environmental planting is a registered
method under the Clean Energy Regulators ACCU scheme.
It involves planting a mixture of native trees and shrubs,
with the aim of establishing a new and permanent forest cover.
On this property we're looking at a 30 hectare carbon planting.
We're going to establish that using two methods.
So we're going to be direct seeding a range of acacia species, over
eight species as well as some Dodonaea or some hot bush, and then in conjunction
with that, to support that direct seeding, which is where we sow the seeds
directly into the ground with a direct seeding machine,
will be doing some tube stock planting.
So the tube stock will be concentrating on the eucalypt species
or the larger overstory species of the site, and that'll allow us
to strategically place them throughout the site to get good spacings.
Projects like Virginia's are registered with the Clean Energy Regulator
to generate carbon credits, which are also known
as ACCUs or Australian Carbon Credit units.
For every tonne of carbon dioxide stored
in the planting The landholder will receive one ACCU.
The landholder can choose to sell the ACCUs
through the carbon market for an added income stream, or they can choose
to hold on to them and contribute them to their farms carbon neutral status.
So Living Carbon aims to demonstrate that carbon plantings can also have
a biodiversity eco benefit which may in turn add value to the price of the ACCUs
This land has been cropped for a really long time, hence
there's not a lot of trees left and cattle particularly,
grazing properties, benefit from the shade, the shelter from the wind.
And these plantings should provide really well that shade and that shelter.
So Riverina Local Land Services is an onground support partner
in the Living Carbon Project.
We provide technical assistance to landholders
so we can help with things like mapping and project design
applying for your grant and the monitoring and reporting requirements.
So as part of the Living Carbon Project,
the project will be registered with accounting for nature
and an environmental account will be developed
to help monitor the biodiversity of the project.
Certainly my experience has been that there has been
a lot of support and a lot of help and I'm really grateful for that.
Yeah, look, this is very exciting for us.
The size and the scale of the carbon plantings is a really exciting thing,
particularly the added benefit
of the corridors that it's creating along the riparian areas on the property.
So yeah, I can't wait to come back in five years time and see how it looks.
So at the moment I'm feeling like I'm really winning
and it's a nice feeling.
Planting for the future
Areas cleared through grazing, harrowing and burning are now ready for planting. The Riverina Local Land Service has completed baseline monitoring. Unfortunately, severe weather temporarily halted planting.
This delay is a stark reminder that primary producers in a unique position to implement climate positive action by reducing emissions and sequestering carbon are also among those most affected by climate change.
Koolawarra shows how carbon farming can be a practical option for other producers. By starting with select parcels of land, the owners are testing how a carbon project fits with their existing farming business model to maintain viability.
Their work shows that, with the right support structures and buy-in from landowners, revegetation projects can open new revenue streams and deliver measurable environmental outcomes.
Measuring biodiversity benefits
“I would encourage any other landholders who are concerned about our changing climate to contact the Living Carbon team. I went from feeling overwhelmed with where to start, to finding support and a breadth of knowledge. This meant not only could I contribute to solutions, I could also diversify the productivity of our land,”- Virginia Leitch
More success stories from the Climate Change Fund
Clean energy storage offers new life to old mineshafts.
Scope 3 emissions typically make up the largest share of an organisation’s carbon footprint, yet they remain the most complex to measure and reduce.
‘Range anxiety’, or the fear of running out of battery power and being stranded, has long been a significant perceived barrier to the widespread adoption of EVs.