Back O’Slaters is located on Gundungurra and Dharug Country, in Taralga, NSW. This property was previously used for farmland and is now being restored to native forest. Impacted by land clearing and a bushfire in 2013, owners Andrew and Beverley Moore approached Greenfleet to help restore the land. “The planting process was very positive, and I was particularly impressed with Greenfleet contracting the work to a reputable nursery in the area, which employed good, passionate people for the labour, and treated them well” Andrew said, and is proud of their decision. “It has been really cost effective for us, and it’s good to be doing something for the environment.”
Projects like Back O’Slaters demonstrate Greenfleet’s commitment to long term climate action and ecosystem restoration. We first planted at Back O’Slaters in 2017 and returned in 2024 to revegetate areas impacted by fire and extending a section of existing forest, adding to our environmental impact.
Location & Map
This property is on the lands of Burra Burra people, a 90 minutes’ drive north of Canberra in the Southern Tablelands of NSW.
For over 150 years Back O’Slaters has been worked as farmland. The planting of native vegetation will provide habitat for local wildlife, restore biodiversity in the region and deliver climate action.
This is one of many native reforestation projects that Greenfleet has undertaken in New South Wales since 1997. To see where some of our other projects are growing, you can explore our forest map here.
Species Selection & Revegetation Approach
The initial revegetation work in 2017 saw Greenfleet planting more than 46,000 trees across 60 hectares, restoring 26 locally native species. Further monitoring across successive years showed the trees were thriving and carbon sequestered.
The Silver Banksia Banksia Marginata and Black Sheoak Allocasuarina littoralis planted produce nuts which are food for the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos that frequent this forest.
The Manna Gums Eucalyptus viminalis planted on the site can grow up to 50m tall and its leaves provide food for koalas and other animals, while its height provides them a safe home high off the ground. The ten species of Acacia planted include the Black Wattle Acacia mearnsii which has crevices in its bark, creating homes for insects including butterflies and invertebrates such as wood moth grubs. Its yellow flowers bring pollen-feeding birds such as wattlebirds, yellow-throated honeyeaters and New Holland honeyeaters.
Resilience of Native Forests
In March 2023, a second bushfire severely burned parts the forest. Greenfleet will return to Back O’Slaters in 2024 to show our long-term approach to native reforestation and climate action. We are assessing the affected areas and planning the steps for habitat recovery.
Our Revegetation Team recently visited Back O’Slaters after the 2023 bushfires. They are excited to see the resilience of the forest and the variety of species we planted coming back following this event. Some trees are already recovering better than expected under the circumstances, in particular the team are encouraged that many of the wattle trees are growing back from the root, these will take around two years to fully recover.
When fire burns a forest, it can take up to 12 months to reseed. Even 10-year-old trees are vulnerable to an extreme fire and may not survive. The younger eucalyptus trees planted at Back O’Slaters did not survive, but there are encouraging signs of new foliage on the more advanced trees.
In 2024 Greenfleet is replanting native trees in the fire-affected areas of the forest, including an increase of eucalypts to supplement those young trees burned in the fire. Planting existing species will provide habitat for native animals. Taralga is at high altitude so the plantings will grow slowly due to the colder temperatures. The team will also revegetate an additional 13 hectares provided by the landowners.
Wildlife Habitat Restoration
While delivering climate action by removing carbon, the forest at Back O’Slater is also providing habitat to local wildlife.
Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos already frequent the forest. These large birds eat the nuts of the Silver banksia (Banksia Marginata) and Black Sheoak (Allocasuarina littoralis) trees which we planted in 2017. They like to make their nests in large hollows found up high in old growth native trees, so it’s vital these trees are protected for 100 years.
Eleven different species of Eucalypt were planted to provide food and habitat for arboreal mammals, such as the local possum populations. Species like this also benefit from tree-hollows which can form in Eucalypts that are hundreds of years old. This is another reason Greenfleet legally protects our forests, to ensure we are delivering benefits like this into the future.
In 2024, Greenfleet’s Revegetation Team also observed activity of the local Bare-nosed Wombats, as seen by this freshly excavated wombat burrow. This wombat species is most common in New South Wales and prefers to create its burrow in mainly wet, partly forested areas. Eastern Grey kangaroos and wallabies have also been seen on the site.
Greenfleet planted ten species of Acacia to provide food and habitat to a very wide range of insects, birds and mammals.
Climate Action
The forest growing at Back O’Slaters is legally protected for 100 years to deliver long-term climate action and environmental benefits. Over that time, it will capture nearly 47,400 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere which is the equivalent to removing around 11,500 average vehicles from Australia’s roads for a whole year.
Greenfleet uses the Full Carbon Account Model (FullCAM) to measure the carbon uptake at our revegetation sites. This model was developed by the CSIRO and is approved by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
About Greenfleet
Greenfleet is a 26-year-old Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation protecting our climate by restoring our forests.
We plant native biodiverse forests to capture carbon emissions and help fight the impacts of climate change. Greenfleet is Australia’s first carbon offset provider and since 1997 has planted over 10.8 million trees creating more than 550 forests in Australia and New Zealand.
Our forests are legally protected for up to 100 years, conserving biodiversity, improving the health of our soils and waterways, and restoring habitat for wildlife, including many endangered species.
Greenfleet grows forests and climate hope by empowering people to take tangible and long-lasting environmental action.
Location
71 ha site near Taralga, NSW
Planting Dates
2017 & 2024
Species
- Black Gum Eucalyptus aggregata
- Black Sallee Eucalyptus stellulata
- Black Sheoak Allocasuarina littoralis
- Black Wattle Acacia mearnsii
- Blackwood Acacia melanoxylon
- Brittle Gum Eucalyptus mannifera
- Broad Leaf Peppermint Eucalyptus dives
- Brown Barrel Eucalyptus fastigata
- Burgan Kunzea ericoides
- Candlebark Eucalyptus rubida
- Early Black Wattle Acacia decurrens
- Manna Gum Eucalyptus viminalis
- Mountain Gum Eucalyptus dalrympleana
- Myrtle Tea Tree Leptospermum myrtifolium
- Narrow Leaf Peppermint Eucalyptus radiata
- Prickly Tea Tree Leptospermum continentale
- Red Stemmed Wattle Acacia rubida
- Red Stringbark Eucalyptus macroryncha
- River Bottlebrush Callistomon sieberi
- River Tea Tree Leptospermum obovatum
- Silver Banksia Banksia marginata
- Silver Wattle Acacia dealbata
- Snow Gum Eucalyptus pauciflora
- Sunshine Wattle Acacia terminalis
- Sweet Bursaria Bursaria spinosa
- Tantoon Leptospermum polygalifolium