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.

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MidCoast Council, together with the NSW Government, is supporting 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.

“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 ten 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.

More information about this opportunity is available at https://www.energy.nsw.gov.au/business-and-industry/programs-grants-and-schemes/primary-industries-productivity-and-abatement/living-carbon.

As the on-ground support partner for the region, MidCoast Council can assist landholders to understand if this opportunity suits them and provide support when preparing planting plans and grant applications.

“We are encouraging landholders and farmers to participate,” Mr Tuckerman continued.

“We anticipate that there will be great interest in this opportunity.

“Large parts of the MidCoast are suitable for these plantings.

“The ability to attract government funding to help establish the plantings is a real positive.”

To learn more about carbon and environmental markets, Hunter Local Land Services is holding a ‘Natural Capital – what’s in it for me?’ field day at Bunyah on 20 September, from 9am to 1pm. To attend, please register at https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/regions/hunter/events

Living Carbon grant applications are assessed as they are submitted and will close in April 2025, or when all available funds have been awarded.

If you are interested in applying for the Living Carbon grant, please contact MidCoast Council’s Koala Safe Spaces team via email at koalasafespaces@midcoast.nsw.gov.au or call (02)7955 7777.