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| Founded | 1997 |
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| Location | |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Wayne Wescott CEO [1] |
| Website | www |
Greenfleet is an Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation focused on protecting the climate by restoring native forests.
Originally developed as a project of The Foster Foundation, Greenfleet was launched in October 1997 to offer Australian motorists a tree-planting program to re-capture CO2 emissions, and promote fuel-efficient technologies to reduce emissions at the source. [2]
Greenfleet plants native biodiverse forests to offset carbon emissions on behalf of individuals and businesses and help fight the impacts of climate change. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Since 1997, the organisation has planted more than 10 million native trees across over 550 biodiverse forests in Australia and New Zealand [8]
Greenfleet forests address critical deforestation, capture carbon emissions to protect the climate, reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and restore habitat for wildlife, including many endangered species.
Greenfleet is focused on delivering projects with strong environmental outcomes, along with social and economic co-benefits. Their projects are funded by individual and corporate supporter donations.
Greenfleet works with a wide range of project partners, including federal, state and local government, corporate partners and peer environmental organisations. They actively seek out partnerships with organisations committed to taking practical action on climate change and the environment.
While all their forestry projects are designed to protect the climate, Greenfleet also work to deliver additional community benefits, including:
Greenfleet is working to protect Australia's endangered sea turtle population through the creation of "low glow" coastal communities.
The Low Glow project aims to protect Queensland's endangered sea turtle population and engage the local community to reduce artificial light glow around important turtle nesting sites. [9]
Since 2017, Greenfleet has planted over 90,000 native trees in Barolin Nature Reserve in Bundaberg, Queensland. [10] [11] This is the largest ever reforestation project in the region, with the forest expected to absorb more than 65,000 tonnes of carbon. [12] [ better source needed ]
The growing forest has been designed to protect the local sea turtle population at neighbouring Mon Repos beach. As the trees grow, they will form a ‘green curtain” to shield the sea turtle hatchery from artificial light pollution.
In 2018, Greenfleet, Telstra employees and Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council joined forces to plant over 1,000 native and fruit trees in the remote community of Kowanyama, Far North Queensland. [13]
This revegetation project is intended to deliver a wide range of benefits, including environmental, health and well-being outcomes for the local community.
Greenfleet has joined forces with Bush Heritage Australia on a climate-ready revegetation project at Nardoo Hills Reserve in central Victoria, Australia. [14]
This project is designed to protect and restore temperate woodlands—the most threatened wooded ecosystem in Australia—and contribute to climate change resilience.
Spanning 1,200 hectares, Nardoo Hills Reserve has experienced dieback of two Eucalypt species–Grey Box ( Eucalyptus microcarpa ) and Yellow Box ( Eucalyptus melliodora ). The dieback is affecting both older and younger trees that provide crucial habitat for native wildlife, including the Hooded Robin, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Brown Treecreeper and Tree Goanna. [15]
Using data sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology, the project has modelled the regional climate for the next 30 to 70 years. As a result, the seeds to be planted in the trial have been sourced from trees in New South Wales and South Australia that currently experience hotter and drier climates. [16]
The large-scale trial is intended to diversify the Eucalypt species’ gene pool and aims to ‘future-proof’ Nardoo Hills as temperatures increase and rainfall patterns change.
In 2021, Greenfleet gained approval of a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) from Reconciliation Australia. This plan will see the organisation take steps towards working more closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to play a more proactive role in reconciliation. [17]
Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Two important purposes of reforestation programs are for harvesting of wood or for climate change mitigation purposes. Reforestation can also help with ecosystem restoration. One method for reforestation is to establish tree plantations, also called plantation forests. They cover about 131 million ha worldwide, which is 3% of the global forest area and 45% of the total area of planted forests.
Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture and from the lower-cost but slower and less reliable distribution of tree seeds. Trees contribute to their environment over long periods of time by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we breathe.
Greening Australia is an Australian environmental organisation, founded in 1982, the International Year of the Tree, to protect, restore and conserve Australia's native vegetation. Greening Australia was formed by the United Nations Association of Australia and the Nursery Industry Association of Australia.
Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair already damaged ecosystems rather than take preventative measures. Ecological restoration can reverse biodiversity loss, combat climate change, and support local economies.
Conservation in New Zealand has a history associated with both Māori and Europeans. Both groups of people caused a loss of species and both altered their behaviour to a degree after realising their effect on indigenous flora and fauna.
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no recent tree cover. In comparison, reforestation means re-establishing forest that have either been cut down or lost due to natural causes, such as fire, storm, etc. There are three types of afforestation: Natural regeneration, agroforestry and tree plantations. Afforestation has many benefits. In the context of climate change, afforestation can be helpful for climate change mitigation through the route of carbon sequestration. Afforestation can also improve the local climate through increased rainfall and by being a barrier against high winds. The additional trees can also prevent or reduce topsoil erosion, floods and landslides. Finally, additional trees can be a habitat for wildlife, and provide employment and wood products.
Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting program, it receives carbon credit or offset credit, which account for the net climate benefits that one entity brings to another. After certification by a government or independent certification body, credits can be traded between entities. One carbon credit represents a reduction, avoidance or removal of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or its carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e).
Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, forest protection, and forest regulation. This includes management for timber, aesthetics, recreation, urban values, water, wildlife, inland and nearshore fisheries, wood products, plant genetic resources, and other forest resource values. Management objectives can be for conservation, utilisation, or a mixture of the two. Techniques include timber extraction, planting and replanting of different species, building and maintenance of roads and pathways through forests, and preventing fire.
Land clearing in Australia describes the removal of native vegetation and deforestation in Australia. Land clearing involves the removal of native vegetation and habitats, including the bulldozing of native bushlands, forests, savannah, woodlands and native grasslands and the draining of natural wetlands for replacement with agriculture, urban and other land uses.
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, invasive species, and climate change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration.
Beginning as a conservation movement, the environmental movement in Australia was the first in the world to become a political movement. Australia is home to United Tasmania Group, the world's first green party.
Palm oil, produced from the oil palm, is a basic source of income for many farmers in South East Asia, Central and West Africa, and Central America. It is locally used as cooking oil, exported for use in much commercial food and personal care products and is converted into biofuel. It produces up to 10 times more oil per unit area than soybeans, rapeseed or sunflowers.
Soil management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance. It includes soil conservation, soil amendment, and optimal soil health. In agriculture, some amount of soil management is needed both in nonorganic and organic types to prevent agricultural land from becoming poorly productive over decades. Organic farming in particular emphasizes optimal soil management, because it uses soil health as the exclusive or nearly exclusive source of its fertilization and pest control.
The Plant A Tree Today Foundation (PATT) is a non-governmental environmental organization with primary operations in the United Kingdom and Thailand. Established in 2005, PATT attempts to raise environmental awareness and foster better practices in less developed nations around the world, planting trees as a means to combat deforestation and climate change. Planting tree help to reforest cleared land. Planting of trees also plays a role in climate change adaptation.
The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), formerly the Voluntary Carbon Standard, is a standard for certifying carbon credits to offset emissions. VCS is administered by Verra, a 501(c)(3) organization. Verra is the world's biggest certifier of voluntary carbon offsets. As of 2020 there were over 1,500 certified VCS projects covering energy, transport, waste, forestry, and other sectors. In 2021 Verra issued 300 MtCO2e worth of offset credits for 110 projects. There are also specific methodologies for REDD+ projects. Verra is the program of choice for most of the forest credits in the voluntary market, and almost all REDD+ projects.
The ecology of Florida considers the state's two Level I and three Level II/III ecoregions containing more than 80 distinct ecosystems. They differ in hydrology, climate, landforms, soil types, flora, and fauna, forming a global biodiversity hotspot.
Deforestation is a primary contributor to climate change, and climate change affects the health of forests. Land use change, especially in the form of deforestation, is the second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from human activities, after the burning of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases are emitted from deforestation during the burning of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon. Global models and national greenhouse gas inventories give similar results for deforestation emissions. As of 2019, deforestation is responsible for about 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation are accelerating.
Pacific Forest Trust is an accredited non-profit conservation land trust that advances forest conservation and stewardship solutions. Its mission is to sustain America's forests for their public benefits of wood, water, wildlife, and people's wellbeing, in cooperation with landowners and communities.
Carbon farming is a set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the soil, crop roots, wood and leaves. The technical term for this is carbon sequestration. The overall goal of carbon farming is to create a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere. This is done by increasing the rate at which carbon is sequestered into soil and plant material. One option is to increase the soil's organic matter content. This can also aid plant growth, improve soil water retention capacity and reduce fertilizer use. Sustainable forest management is another tool that is used in carbon farming. Carbon farming is one component of climate-smart agriculture. It is also one way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
