MidCoast landholders are being encouraged to consider the support available for establishing environmental plantings for carbon on their land.
Planting native trees and shrubs on cleared land can provide much-needed future habitat for native wildlife, and by storing carbon it can allow landholders to participate in the carbon market. MidCoast Council, together with the NSW Government, is pleased to support the delivery of Living Carbon grants to local farmers and landholders.
Living Carbon grants are administered as part of the NSW Government's Primary Industry Productivity and Abatement Program and supported by the NSW Koala Strategy. The grants focus on lowering the barriers that prevent landholders from entering the carbon market. The Living Carbon grants provide financial support to assist with the cost of establishing an environmental planting carbon project. They also focus on improving biodiversity and delivering co-benefits, in particular koala habitat for MidCoast projects.
"This is a great opportunity for landholders to learn how to participate in the carbon market at the same time as creating habitat for iconic Australian wildlife, like the koala," said MidCoast Council's Manager Natural Systems, Gerard Tuckerman.
"The grant could help landholders improve the health of their land, increase productivity, and possibly unlock new income streams."
To be eligible for a Living Carbon grant, a landholder needs a minimum of 10 hectares of cleared land that they wish to revegetate with environmental plantings. Their project must already be registered with the Clean Energy Register under the Environmental Planting Pilot method (or equivalent), which is set out by the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme.