Biodiversity Restoration - One Tree For Every Order

The Importance of biodiversity

Biodiversity is our earth’s life support system. It strengthens ecosystems that supply us with oxygen, clean air and water, animals and insects for plant pollination, natural pest control, resources and habitat.

Biodiversity does more than simply meet our necessities for survival. It can help to minimise the risk during devastating events. For example, species extinction risk during bushfires could be minimised if an ecosystem is balanced and diverse which can help it recover. Biodiversity also helps us to maintain food supply by encouraging healthy soil that is nutrient-rich. Diverse habitats create healthy soil that allows our produce to grow. This is why it is important for healthy habitats to be maintained for the circle of life to continue sustainably.

Trees on farms

When we think about a typical farm, we think of vast barren grazing pastures dotted with the odd eucalypt over rolling hills or flat plains. While there has been a historical desire to turn dense bushland into irrigated pastures to feed increasing heads of cattle as an example, modern farmers are looking to natural farming methods and incorporating Agroforestry into their farming models. By doing so farmers can encourage biodiversity, soil fertility, manage salinity and provide shelter belts for livestock and crops.

Farmers are planting more trees these days than ever. Further, some farmers have or are considering the benefits of revenue-producing trees as an added enterprise to their Agroforestry ambitions. If extra revenue can be made by establishing oil-producing shelter belts or salinity and fertility management systems - that’s a win for the producer. And for us oil enthusiasts.

Carbon capture

Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a process called photosynthesis, which is how plants get their energy to grow and survive. The carbon that the plants capture is then branches, stems, leaves, bark and roots.

The CSIRO make use of plants’ carbon-storing ability with a carbon farming program that presents landowners with carbon credits for tree lots planted on their pastures. The credits are a viable source of income for struggling farmers.

Some plantations were chosen to suit the area but also had a surprising potential outside of 10-20 years of carbon capture. Much like our Eucalyptus Blue Mallee, these trees had a dual purpose in life. Trees that serve the function of capturing carbon as they grow and producing essential oils in their leaves that can be used as a substitute for synthetic chemicals in wellness and health solutions are trees that we love the most.

It may seem contrary that harvesting can be good for carbon sequestration, but this is because growing trees capture more carbon than older trees. As trees work hardest as they are growing, a carbon captured tree when harvested at coppicing level allows the tree to repeat this process again and again with each cycle.

This is why we are dedicated to planting one tree for every order we ship from our store. A large portion of our trees are planted on farms for essential oil production allowing the beautiful synergy of carbon capture, biodiversity management AND essential oil production to be at the forefront of the farming model evolution.

Our Partnership with Carbon Neutral

There are stretches of land and parcels of native bush that deserve just as much attention as the farm. These are areas that have been heavily forested or mismanaged and have thus seen a decline in biodiversity, loss of crucial habitats and native wildlife.

 We can’t be everywhere and plant every tree so we rely upon organisations that have the ability to get out there and do this for us. They’re doing it already and we love supporting their efforts. One such organisation is Carbon Neutral. Established over 20 years ago, it was behind the creation of Australia’s very first online carbon calculator. This team has now planted over 30 million trees. 30 million! We at earthYARD were so impressed at their desire and ability to make a difference that we chose to partner with Carbon Neutral to help us reach our vision of a cleaner, greener planet earth.

Yarra Yarra Corridor

 One such area that Carbon Neutral focuses on is a massive project that commenced back in 2008, the Yarra Yarra Corridor. The Yarra Yarra is a region of south western Australia that stretches 200km inland to the coast south of Perth. This is an area that was heavily forested in the 1900s to provide for grazing and farming land. In doing so over 90% of native vegetation and wildlife was removed.

Carbon Neutral are restoring this area and simultaneously delivering environmental, social, economic and heritage benefits. The process of reforesting this corridor with native vegetation carefully selected to improve the local ecosystem and biodiversity has seen the return of wildlife to the area and a massive reduction in carbon in the atmosphere.

Our hopes in this area

earthYARD will continue to support the efforts of Carbon Neutral in their ambition to complete the 200km corridor as well as support and participate in projects they wish to undertake around Australia in the future.

Further, earthYARD encourages farmers around Australia to consider their options for Agroforestry enterprises with essential oil production from native trees being at the top of our list of recommendations. We want to see more producers launching here in Australia and if buying and planting seedlings that turn into critical inhabitants on rural properties is the way to help this along, that’s what we aim to do.

Doing One Good Thing

We can’t do everything to counter climate change and reduce global carbon output but we CAN plant one tree for every order shipped. You’ll notice our One Good Thing metre at the bottom of our homepage. This counts every order we’ve shipped so far, and therefore every tree we’ve planted either through the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Offset Program or through our own efforts on farms around Australia.

Trees we’ve planted and where:
Rosalina – Woodburn, NSW
Lemon Myrtle – Lawrence, NSW
Eucalyptus Globulus – Glen Alice, NSW
Rosemary – Glen Alice, NSW
Eucalyptus Radiata – Glen Alice, NSW