Kelly, VIC

Located in central Victoria about an hour north-west of Bendigo, Kelly is one of many Greenfleet sites in the Wedderburn area. The property was purchased in 2009 by landholder Paul Dettmann and his organisation the Cassinia Environmental.

Paul’s organisation, focusses on using land to restore vegetation, increase biodiversity and reconnect land through biolinking. This is all while utilising trees to offset carbon emissions. As a result, both Greenfleet and Cassinia Environmental goals align very closely.

Overcoming Challenges

Previously used for grazing, Kelly became a relatively unproductive 103ha property. Having said that, when we first planted on the site between 2010 and 2015 we had to be conscious of protected species of native flora. Including some wildflowers and native wild grasses.

Greenfleet Land Strategy Manager, Eoghan, acknowledges the amount of work that had to go into establishing trees on the site. “The site has faced a lot of challenges including severe drought and floods.” As a result, it has taken a lot of determination to get it to where it is today.

Despite this, he and the rest of the revegetation team are proud of the work they have put in to get it to where it is. “We can now see high value habitat being created on the site. The trees are doing well sequestering carbon and we’re really happy with it.”

Pieces Of The Puzzle

There are multiple Greenfleet sites in the area including Ploughshare and Nardoo Hills; which is a new project for Greenfleet in 2019. Our work at Kelly has been designed to connect remnant vegetation with new trees to create habitat corridors that support native wildlife.

Interestingly, Paul sees his work as “[sewing] pieces of land together to better support the landscape”.  Eoghan agrees, pointing out that we should acknowledge how the trees on this particular property are contributing to the wider area, not just the site itself.

You can see the different sites in the area using our interactive map, here.

Returning Wildlife

One of the most striking ways to understand the difference our revegetation projects make is seeing wildlife utilising the restored habitat. 

There are many varieties of wildlife that will benefit from the trees. Multiple reptiles, like the Stumpy-tailed Lizard and Eastern Brown Snake, have already started calling the forest home. You’ll also find woodland birds like the Wood Swallow, Striated Pardalote and the Superb Fairy Wren. The idea that this could help return even more native animals is extremely exciting and something we look forward to.

While we have had to put a lot of work into getting this site to where it is now, we are proud of how far it has come and look forward to watching it grow into the future.

Climate Action

While this forest is providing essential habitat for wildlife in the region, it along with the sites around it are also playing a crucial role in taking climate action. Incredibly, by the year 2030, the trees on Kelly alone will have sequestered 26,896 tonnes of carbon (CO2-e) from the atmosphere. That’s equivalent of removing more than 6,550 average cars off the road for one year!