A new project is aiming to tackle climate change and help save koalas at the same time.
Landowners in New South Wales can earn carbon credits by planting koala habitat on their properties.
The cost of the trees is covered, as is maintenance for the first three years.
Matt and Shae Bleakley live on Banyula-Saratini Farm, a 370 hectare property in Clunes.
They are planting 25 hectares of koala habitat.
"We call our planting the koala resort," Mr Bleakley said.
"It started out as the koala hotel, but as it grew, we thought nah it's more of a resort.
"They've got an amazing vista, they're going to have the best view on the north coast."
A program aimed at creating new habitat
This pilot program is called the Koala Friendly Carbon Farming Program.
It's planting a bio-diverse koala and rainforest habitat on private land, free of charge.
Those trees will earn carbon credits for the landholder over a 25-year period.
To qualify, owners must have at least 25 hectares that can be set aside for tree planting and show evidence of koalas nearby with a focus on reconnecting fragmented habitat.
"Financially, it certainly makes sense," Mr Bleakley said.
"Having an accounting background, I've gone into the numbers probably more than most, and it works."
His neighbour Jim Irvine has also signed up for the project.
He owns Eltham Springs, an 85 hectare farm he bought in 2020 after living overseas for a long time and running an Indigenous art gallery in Victoria.
He says earning carbon credits was an extra benefit.
"It's certainly a bonus. It wasn't the primary motivation to do this venture," he said.
"It's lovely that it's available. As to how far the credits will go in the way of value, that remains to be seen."
In the Northern Rivers, the aim is to restore 200 hectares of koala habitat by planting 250,000 tree seedlings and providing an additional revenue stream for landholders through carbon farming.
Climate Friendly is helping landholders navigate the new world of carbon markets.
The organisation is working in partnership with rural land managers across Australia to restore native habitat through bio-diverse environmental plantings.
"With the prospect of diversifying an income for rural land managers, the carbon does offer them a different avenue they may not have previously considered," Jessie Laing from Climate Friendly said.
An ambitious target
The New South Wales government has set a target of doubling the number of koalas in the state by 2050.
NSW Minister for the Environment James Griffin says the $193.3 million NSW Koala Strategy, is the biggest financial commitment by any government to secure the future of koalas in the wild.
"The challenge we have is 10 per cent of New South Wales is national parks, but more than 70 per cent is held in private hands and a great percentage of that is also critical koala habitat," he said.
"For landholders to generate a new revenue stream, the likes of which they've never had before, to have better certainty about a return that will deliver them, I think it is a game changer."
Koalas are now considered an endangered species in NSW, Queensland and the ACT.
World Wide Fund for Nature's Tanya Pritchard says it would be a disaster if koalas disappeared from the wild.
"Koalas are one of the most well-known Aussie icons of our fauna species," she said.
"I really see them as an indicator of the health of our general environment, so if we can't save the koalas what does that mean for the rest of us?"
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