About
Farmers manage almost 60% of the land in Victoria, much of which has been cleared of trees. Many farmers want to revegetate part of their land to improve agricultural production, restore degraded land or as a source of additional income. At the same time, organisations and industries are keen to invest in planting trees on farms to increase biodiversity, improve water quality, increase carbon storage, or to produce timber.
The Trees on Farms platform has been developed as part of the Growing Landscape Carbon Project. The aim of the project is to connect landowners who want to grow more trees with organisations wanting to invest in trees, such as Catchment Management Authorities, Greening Australia, forest industries, farm forestry initiatives, carbon brokers and Landcare groups. Connecting landowners with investors will help build partnerships for growing trees for both conservation and for profit. Selecting the right tree species for the right sites will support revegetation on rural land that meets the needs of both landowners and investors.
The initial platform is a proof of concept that will be refined after feedback from investors and landowners. The platform uses the latest technology and builds on farm forestry knowledge on timber species, products, growth and management requirements, and experience with farmer-to-farmer learning in the Master Tree Growers program.
The Growing Landscape Carbon Project is funded by the Virtual Centre for Climate Change Innovations Grants project funded by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
The project is managed by the University of Melbourne working in collaboration with Carbon Markets Institute, Greening Australia, Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, Midway Ltd and the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).
Click here to view selected reports from the Growing Landscape Carbon Project.
For more information about the Growing Landscape Carbon Project contact:
Professor Rod Keenan rkeenan@unimelb.edu.au +61 0428 330 8860