Rail freight company Aurizon has partnered with Mackay Regional Council to deliver a native revegetation project on 118-hectares of former grazing land at Koumala.
The project has included the planting of 59,000 seedlings comprised of a mixture of species native to the Hatfield and Connor Ranges.
The successful implementation of this project through Aurizon came, in part, through financial support from a Federal Government Carbon + Biodiversity (C+B) Pilot grant and has been registered under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 as an Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
The land is expected to generate an average of roughly 1300 ACCUs per annum.
Aurizon Managing Director and CEO Andrew Harding expressed his pride in the company being involved in such a project.
“This is an Australian first for Aurizon, representing our first nature-based carbon-offsetting tree reserve,” Harding says.
“Over the next 25 years it is expected to generate more than 32,000 tonnes of carbon abatement – an important initiative in delivering on our target of net zero operational emissions by 2050.
“Aurizon is a major employer and proud contributor to the regional economy. Projects like these demonstrate how we can work together to deliver community and environmental benefit.”
Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson praised the involvement of various levels of industry for the successful completion of the project.
“The successful restoration of this 118-hectare site is a shining example of what can be achieved when local government, private enterprise and the community work together,” Williamson says.
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