Open Woodland Restoration
Planting for Nature, Planning for Productivity
Build resilient pastures while improving farm productivity and revenue streams.
Open Woodlands Restoration is a land management strategy that recreates a natural mix of:
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Widely spaced eucalyptus trees
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Broken up by grassy open areas
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Multiple layers of vegetation ​
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This “clumpy and open” structure gets trees, shrubs and grasses all working together to provide a flexible productive pasture.
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It is a long-term investment in building a more resilient, productive and profitable farm.
Why restore Box-Gum Grassy Woodlands
The BGGW is home to a cacophony of Australia's flora and fauna - including crowd favourites like koalas and quolls. It is a critically endangered ecosystem, with only 4% of its original extent left. Most of this land was cleared for grazing under prior farm management regimes.
We now understand that these open woodlands can play an important part in maintaining healthy pasture and providing shade and protection to stock. The Open Woodland Restoration project aims to find ways to help farmers restore this ecosystem.
Current projects
The NSW government is supporting two projects across the Southern Tablelands that are designed to promote Open Woodland Restoration.
If you are a landholder in this region, you may qualify for funding to support the development of a project on your land. This website aims to introduce you to the Open Woodland Restoration project, and enable your to explore these opportunities. There are also 3 co-design sessions where the local community can help interrogate and develop the approach (Mar, Apr, May).
PROJECT PARTNERS
CONVENOR
Where this all began
Like any great story, this one has many threads.
You could start with:
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Geoff Kay - a farmer and Woodland Ecologist that pioneered the design (2 close rows, a big gap, 2 close rows) on his farm "Waminda" and continues to lead the way in the development of the design.
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James Campbell - a farmer and ex-banker with a flair for numbers. He became the chair of the Regen Farmers Mutual Members Council back in 2021 and took his highlighter to the Carbon Farming Act. He was one of the first to replicate the strategy discovered by Geoff.
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Chris Komor - a farmer and ex-lawyer that came through a Landscape Impact Program in 2024, undertook feasibility and design work locally, and ultimately helped work out the financing terms and services agreements. Without him the quest to systematisation would not have happened.
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You could start with James Diack, a garlic farmer and local consultant that - after leaving Mulloon and Soils for Life - joined the charge on Open Woodland Restoration project and started building.
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You could start with Joe, Vince, Mel or Tom.
Wherever you start you end up with Open Woodland Restoration being a farmer-led effort that is so promising that we keep developing it for other farmers to follow and implement.
A strategy to enhance your land,
improve farm productivity and grow revenue.
Carbon
Grow trees to sequester carbon and earn Australian Carbon Credits
Biodiversity
Create habitat for Australia's iconic and endangered species
Productivity
Build more carrying capacity through shade and shelter
Is Open Woodland Restoration suitable for my farm?
Explore this website to learn how you can assess the opportunity on your farm and model its prospective productivity impacts.
If you would like to dig deeper, we can connect you with expert advice and potential grant opportunities - or you can join the community co-design that is being run in the Southern Tablelands in the first half of 2026.
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