Jennell Reynolds stands in a windswept paddock and lifts an old tennis racquet to an acacia bush.
The Wudjari woman gently hits its branches, knocking bright orange seeds into a brown bag.
They will soon be planted on a more barren part of the property near Salmon Gums, 730 kilometres south-east of Perth, and eventually grow into trees.
It’s hoped this activity will create an opportunity to dramatically improve the lives of the region’s traditional owners.
Buying back country
The native title rights and interests of the Esperance Wudjari people were formally recognised almost 10 years ago.
But the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation say those rights do not provide a way to generate income off the land.
“The reality is that Wudjari traditional owners is still a … dispossessed group because most of their country was taken and cleared to support the opening up of the agricultural industry in Esperance,” said Tjaltjraak CEO Peter Bednall.
“[It] is now some of the most profitable and valuable agricultural land in the country.”
The organisation decided buying back land would be the best way to change that.
Two years ago it teamed up with Carbon Neutral and the Odonata Foundation and bought the 4,000-hectare farm about an hour-and-a-half’s drive north of Esperance, near Salmon Gums.
Together they raised $5.3 million, although that fell short of its $6.5 million price tag.
The two partners paid the difference, and Tjaltjraak eventually worked with the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation to purchase the remaining parts of the property earlier this year.
“So this property is owned outright by Tjaltjraak now,” Mr Bednall said.
Once called Sardi Farms, the property is now called Kardutjaanup, the local name for the formation known as Peak Charles, which can be seen in the distance.
Support for tree planting needed
Tomorrow, the group will launch the Rejuvenation Tree program, targeting investors to help plant 4.5 million trees with more than 70 endemic species.
The funding will also support seed collection, habitat restoration, and jobs for First Nation’s people on country.
The contribution from investors will be philanthropic, although they can advertise their involvement.
One of the first investors was cosmetics company L’Oréal Groupe which will provide $600,000 over three years.
Spokeswoman Olivia Whitaker said it was important for big businesses to invest in projects like these for their social and environmental outcomes, but also to inspire other corporations and consumers to do the same.
Carbon trading
The support from these companies will facilitate the second part of the project – carbon trading.
When the trees grow they will absorb and store carbon, creating carbon credits which will be owned by Tjaltjraak.
These credits can be bought and sold to pay off debt, to buy more farms, or to sell to other companies.
Offsets programs have faced scrutiny in recent years for not delivering on their environmental promises.
But Carbon Neutral chief executive Phil Ireland said there are still plenty of effective models.
“Historically, there have been integrity issues with some offsets, and I think we absolutely need to scrutinise that,” he said.
“But to tar all carbon credits with the same brush probably does the environment a disservice.
“The only way we’re going to address climate change is by both drawing carbon out of the atmosphere and reducing emissions.
“One of the best tried and tested ways of doing that is by planting trees.”
He believed this project would stack up because it involved planting trees and partnered with First Nations people on land they owned.
“We’ve seen a history of projects that have sometimes not properly included First Nations people,” he said.
“And what we’re trying to do here in Esperance is rewrite that and show a model that can be replicated elsewhere, that has First Nations people and traditional owners at the very heart of the project.”
Fossil fuel companies off the table
Mr Bednall said it would be about four or five years before the group started selling carbon credits, because the trees needed to reach a minimum canopy height before carbon units could be calculated.
He said when that happens, it would prefer to sell to companies that were genuinely interested in reducing their carbon footprint.
“Tjaltjraak has already said ‘no’ to some intensive producers of fossil fuels that we were not interested in a relationship,” he said.
He said some investors might buy carbon credits simply to support efforts to decarbonise the atmosphere, rather than offsetting their emissions.
He said the farm was not only bought to trade carbon — traditional owners also wanted the health of the country restored.
“It’s purchased this property to restore biodiversity standards to match the surrounding bush,” he said.
Creating genuine change
The proceeds from the project will be held in a charity and invested in programs that will help local Aboriginal people.
Tjaltjraak chair Gail Reynolds-Adamson said the new project would hopefully make both the organisation and local community stronger.
She said their first priority is to set up an Aboriginal-controlled community health organisation and help local Aboriginal people access secure housing.
“The pathway to self-determination for Aboriginal people is a challenge across the whole of Australia,” she said.
“We see this as a pathway for us to have those social determinants met.
“[And which will allow us] to make a choice [about] where we put that money to change the future of our people.”
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