The New England Times recently reported on the region’s most ambitious koala habitat restoration project to date, set to unfold at ‘Ringwood’, a 1600ha property near Uralla owned by James and Angelica Smith.

The project is part of the Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative, a collaboration between Climate Friendly and WWF-Australia, supported by the NSW Government.

Over 300 hectares at Ringwood will be reforested with native species, forming part of a broader goal to restore 10,000 hectares of koala habitat across NSW.

The initiative aims to tackle both biodiversity loss and climate change by regenerating forest, sequestering carbon, and generating premium Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).

A field day on May 16th marked the first plantings, with over 128,000 trees and shrubs to be introduced.

Local native seed supplier Field’s Environmental Solutions is providing endemic plant varieties to ensure the ecological integrity of the new habitat.

As reported by Beth Platford in the New England Times (20 May 2025), the project offers landholders like the Smiths a unique opportunity to improve land health, support wildlife, and diversify income through carbon farming.

Read the full story here.