Planting Trees, Impacting Communities, and Repairing Ecosystems
In 2022, One Tree Planted is proud to have worked with several reforestation partners to make an impact across Australia. From helping to restore Indigenous Protected Areas to protecting koala habitats, our projects are restoring forests and impacting communities. As the planted trees continue to grow, they will also help promote biodiversity, clean air & water, and improve air quality.
1. Revegetating Marna Banggara in South Australia
At the front lines of the climate fight are Indigenous people. We are honored to be able to help support these vital communities by helping to restore Indigenous lands through reforestation. This project site is situated on an Indigenous Protected Area that is managed by the traditional owners of the land, the Narungga people. Marna Banggara is from the Narungga language — with marna meaning healthy or prosperous and banggara meaning Country.
By planting trees, this project will provide important habitat for a range of threatened species, including the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat. Native vegetation will also be restored within a highly cleared landscape, helping to improve conservation efforts for numerous other threatened species.
Our partner worked with the local community to support employment opportunities through the project’s implementation phase, including seed collection and pest management work. The Narungga Community and the Indigenous Land Council will also hold the carbon rights that are generated by the planted trees, seeing long-term economic benefits flow through to the Narungga people as the Traditional Custodians of the land.
2. TREEPROJECT IN VICTORIA
This project aimed to help local community members in Victoria make an impact around them. This community-centric project allowed volunteer tree growers to be matched with landholders who want to plant trees to restore degraded areas of their land or expand remnants of indigenous vegetation.
Our partner’s core mission involves bringing urban and rural communities together to foster that link to restore damaged ecosystems across Victoria. Trained volunteer growers contribute their time and hard work to propagate and care for seedlings of indigenous trees, shrubs, and grasses in their own backyards.
By including volunteers on such a grand scale, people were not only able to learn about how tree planting impacts their world, but were empowered to do the work and make a difference in their communities. Every single act of restoration counts and makes a big difference in the world.
3. Bee-Friendly Farming in Australia
Sometimes, the smallest things can have the biggest impact. That’s why we are excited to work with our on-ground partner to help preserve and promote pollinator health. Bees and other pollinators are crucial to preserving and restoring our environment, and that’s what makes Bee-Friendly Farming so important.
Bee Friendly Farming — or BFF — is a certification program that works with land managers to help protect, preserve, and promote pollinator health. BFF provides guidelines for farmers and gardeners to promote pollinator health on their lands.
To support the launch of Bee Friendly Farming in Australia, we helped fund a Tree Grant for farms and landholders who sign up for the BFF program and wish to plant trees on their property to enhance habitat for bees and other pollinators. This ongoing project has helped pollinators thrive — and as a result, will also help increase agricultural sustainability, promoting food security and a thriving community.
4. Koala Wildlife Corridor in Northern NSW & Victoria
From Northern NSW to Victoria, these two projects engaged in habitat restoration, linking existing fragmented koala habitats and koala colonies. Koalas are uniquely susceptible to the effects of drought, climate change, and disease.
This initiative aimed to address the threat of habitat fragmentation, which increases koala vulnerability to other threats. We want to help koalas and other endangered species thrive in a world that is becoming increasingly harmful.
These projects not only help impact these species but also allow local volunteers to take part in the planting, empowering them to make an impact in their communities and environment.
5. ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION IN SOUTHWEST WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The southwest of Western Australia is internationally recognized as one of the Top 25 Biodiversity Hotspots. Many of the species in this region hail from prehistoric times, as the region has been unglaciated for more than 250 million years and have evolved to persist in arid climates on ancient, highly weathered, and even infertile soil.
As great as these species are, the region has been historically over-cleared for the development of broad-acre agriculture.
Now, the remaining ecosystems are fragmented and struggling to support their persistence and resilience into the future.
The goals of this ongoing project are to restore habitat, conserve biodiversity, and extend important wildlife corridors in a biodiversity hotspot. Through the re-establishment of species-rich native vegetation, we helped to capture atmospheric carbon while supporting environmental conservation.
Over the last 10 years, our local partner has been developing and improving their model of reforestation based on the principles of ecological restoration. They seed and plant native vegetation, but the impact they make is so much more than that. Through careful selection of tree and shrub species, in combination with advanced restoration design, they restore habitat that is quickly occupied by local fauna.
By reforesting these cleared lands and engaging many local people, these trees will improve the connectivity and ecological permeability of the landscapes, all while making a positive impact on the community and conservation of local biodiversity.
Australia is home to many different plants and animals that bring vital ecosystems to life. By planting trees across Australia, we are helping to promote biodiversity and impact local communities for generations to come. Want to join us? Plant a tree in Australia today!