In its first year, the Victorian Government’s Bushbank program has secured almost 3,000 hectares of private land for habitat restoration!
The program, delivered by Cassinia Environmental in partnership with the Carbon Farming Foundation, provides a unique opportunity for private landowners to play a meaningful role in addressing climate change and supporting wildlife, leaving a legacy for generations to come.
Since its launch in 2023, landholders have committed almost 3,000 hectares of land to the program, with 818 hectares already revegetated! These initial projects are estimated to sequester 145,514 tonnes of CO2 equivalents by 2050, but they’re just the beginning!
Over the 15-year program, over 20,000 hectares of land across Victoria will be revegetated with native plant species and restored for wildlife conservation. A steady supply of seeds has been secured through the establishment of a Seed Bank Revolving fund with Seeding Victoria.
In most cases, restoration and protection costs will be covered by the program, with between funding support of $500 – $1,450 per hectare available to landowners who meet specified eligibility criteria:
- Land must be freehold land within the state of Victoria, owned by a private individual or entity.
- Land must be eligible for permanent protection.
- Private landowners must be willing to enter a conservation covenant with Trust for Nature.
- A minimum of 10-hectare restoration area available
- No existing obligations to restore the land
- Outside the Melbourne Strategic Assessment area
- Land must not have been illegally cleared.
Benefits of the program to landholders include:
- Participants may be able to earn carbon credits by registering their planting project with the ACCU Scheme. This creates a supplementary income or an opportunity to inset farm emissions.
- Reduced wind erosion.
- Improved soil health and water quality.
- Reduced pesticide and fertiliser run-off.
- Increased shade and shelter for nearby pastoral land.
For more information and to submit an expression of interest, visit: cassinia.com/bushbank or contact the Carbon Farming Foundation on hello@carbonfarming.org.au for an assessment of how many carbon credits your project could earn.
