Emu Australia Restoration Project

About our Emu Restoration Project in Victoria, Australia

Ecological Vegetation Class: Low Rises Grassy Woodland
Bioregion: Goldfields

This 425-hectare restoration site was originally cleared in the mid-late 1800s. The majority of the property (80%) was used continually over a long period for industrial broadacre cropping (mainly canola and barley). The remaining 20% was used for sheep grazing.

It's mainly open pasture with scattered trees and some degraded remnant vegetation. There are no floodplain or wetland areas on the property and the soil is very free draining.

Site objective

Carbon Sequestration: 94,000 tCO2 / 40 years
Methodology: VCS

The primary restoration objective of Emu was to reforest and safeguard a significant part of the natural landscape, strategically positioned 6km northwest of the Dalyenong Nature Conservation Reserve, transforming it into a crucial biodiversity link within the landscape.

By creating a functioning biolink, the Emu project will provide vital pathways for native fauna to traverse, contributing to a long-term landscape goal that will connect Kara Kara National ParkOpens in a new tab., DalyenongOpens in a new tab. and Tunstalls Nature Conservation ReservesOpens in a new tab., and Kooyoora State ParkOpens in a new tab..

An on-title conservation agreement with Trust for NatureOpens in a new tab. ensures in-perpetuity conservation management and protection of the biodiversity across the property.

The project also aims to provide additional, biodiverse, and lasting carbon storage in the newly planted woodland trees and shrubs, as well as in the soil.

Find out more about Land Life's carbon removal reforestation solution.

About the restoration

Primary restoration works of the Emu site were completed in the 2024 planting season, after fencing, animal pest and weed control management.

A total of 19 different native species were used across a combination of direct seeding and tubestock planting methods.

In addition to 275kg of native seed, the entire site was planted with 37,705 seedlings. A further 4,200 seedlings that were not available will be planted in 2025. These additional species to be planted in 2025 will enhance the biodiversity of the site, rather than add anything substantial to the carbon output.

Biodiversity gains

The Emu property is part of what we call the Dalyenong Cluster - remnant forests that are disconnected in the landscape.

The soil type found here is quite a unique type of sand, called the Dalyenong Sands, and the way the property's ecosystem is constructed and put together is quite unique in the woodland landscape. It doesn't really exist anywhere else.

When first inspecting the site, we were excited to discover the site has a really healthy, rare stand of Buloke trees and Alluvial Terraces Woodland (an endangered Ecological Vegetation Class around this district - most of it's already gone). Buloke trees are very popular for uses such as fence posts and were all logged out, with exception to this one healthy stand.

Through our restoration works we aim to bring back Bulokes to the site - restoring it to what it once was - a mix of Eucalypti and woodland. By doing this, we hope to attract Black Cockatoos back that are particularly attracted to Bulokes.

The Black Cockatoo is also an important cultural animal for the Traditional Owners of this land, and a very important bird species in the wider ecosystem.

We're confident the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo will come back after our efforts here start paying off. But we hope in the future the highly threatened southern subspecies of the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo will also make its way back here - that would be a huge biodiversity milestone to be celebrated and an indicator of our success.

See more Australian restoration projects.