We bring together landholders and public and private funders to tackle biodiversity loss, land degradation and the impacts of climate change. Our projects can address these issues by, for example, reducing erosion or salinity, improving soil health and water quality, creating shelter for stock, managing weeds and pests, and creating habitat for native wildlife.

We are not seeking high yield agricultural land. We are looking for land which is clear of trees and in need of restoration, right across Australia. This comes in many forms, but ideally it is unproductive land where you see establishing native plants can be beneficial to you and/or the wider environment. Specifically, we are looking for:

• Little to no existing native vegetation, no clearing of vegetation undertaken in the past 5 years
• The land is not zoned for residential
• The size of the land is greater than 10 hectares
• You are the owner of the land or an authorised representative.

By working with Greening Australia, you get the benefit of our 40+ years of experience restoring Australian landscapes, to ensure your project has the best possible outcomes, tailored to you and to your land. We can also provide access to funding, and/or to economies of scale that would be difficult for you to achieve on your own; a good example is the opportunity to join aggregated carbon projects developed by Greening Australia and our environmental credits company Canopy.

For carbon planting projects specifically, an added benefit of working with us is that Canopy can handle the whole complex process of registration and compliance on your behalf.

We do not ask for any monetary contribution to the project from you. Your principal contribution is allowing access to your land. There may be short-term opportunity costs, such as destocking, and we negotiate compensation for this with you.

We also typically request that landholders undertake some maintenance activities, particularly for carbon plantings. These may include controlling weeds and pests as required by law, maintaining fire breaks and maintaining fences to keep stock out.

Check out our explainer on carbon farming, but in short, to be eligible for carbon credits, planting projects must conform to specific methodologies, put in place by the Australian Government. Before allowing a new project to be registered as a carbon planting, the Clean Energy Regulator reviews project applications to ensure their requirements have been met. We can advise if your land may be suitable for a carbon planting and manage this process for you.

Most of Greening Australia’s carbon projects follow the environmental planting method, using a biodiverse mix of local native tree and shrub species. Through our Reef Aid program in Queensland, we are also beginning to use the new blue carbon method, that sees carbon credits generated from reinstating tidal flows to coastal areas, allowing native vegetation to re-establish.

Access is limited to staff and contractors who are undertaking the agreed restoration activities, and then maintenance and monitoring.

For carbon plantings, we are required to monitor and report on the plantings for at least 25 years. Representatives of the Clean Energy Regulator, including auditors, may also require access to verify the project is being conducted according to the rules.

You can name your price to participate in a project with us. We will take that to the market and attempt to get it funded. However, a high price may not be viable for the current carbon credit price and may take us a while to be able to implement the project. We can give you an indication of the payment that will be accepted for immediate funding.

The income you may receive from a carbon project is based on several factors, including the carbon yield of your land, the size of your planting, the cost of undertaking the project, and the current carbon price, to name a few.

• A Project Development Agreement is used where a landholder wishes to receive income from a carbon project, which is linked to the number of carbon credits created and the market value of those credits. It is also used where a landholder wants to retain carbon credits for themselves, but not offer them for sale (e.g. to offset your own business or products).
• A Lease is used where a landholder wishes to have a fixed annual income for the carbon project, which is independent of carbon credit market value.

These proposal documents summarise the main design aspects of the carbon project under the selected agreement type (Lease/PDA).

• See an example PDA here.
• See an example lease here.

We offer both options. Sharing in carbon credits, or revenue from the sale of carbon credits, does require a landholder to meet some eligibility requirements, but we can take you through those criteria.

Our biggest concern is avoiding damage to the trees and shrubs, as this affects the carbon storage potential. You can access the planting area for activities that won’t affect their growth or carbon stores.

For example, in the early years, grazing is likely to damage young trees and is not permitted. However, once vegetation reaches a suitable age, grazing may be conducted within sustainable limits, in the planting area. We can work with you to plan for this.

The trees must remain for the duration of the project, which is either 25 years or 100 years. After this time, you are no longer legally bound to keep the trees under our agreement, although we hope you do choose to keep them.

You can sell or transfer your land at any time during the agreement; however, the new landholder will need to agree to a contract under the same general terms. Once the project is complete you are no longer bounded by the agreement and may sell under ordinary terms.

Greening Australia has many environmental restoration projects which are not associated with carbon credits but still return many benefits for landholders, local communities and economies, and nature. If you express an interest with us, we can identify which projects may be available to you.

To get the process started, register your interest via our expression of interest form. One of our team will contact you to discuss how we can help you achieve outcomes for your property.