What is Open Woodland Restoration worth on your farm and across the landscape?
Following their first successful online co-design session on 26 March that introduced attendees to Box Gum Grassy Woodlands (BGGW) and gave farmers the tools to understand and identify what habitats lie on their properties, Regen Farmers Mutual is looking at presenting their next session from 12.30pm on Thursday, 30 April.
Now, they will return for a new online co-design session that will continue to help local farmers and networks move from understanding what they have to exploring what their paddocks may be worth in practical terms.
A farm snapshot will provide the starting point by helping farmers understand the Open Woodland Restoration potential on their own property, which will aid in creating a stronger collective picture of priority areas, proximity, connectivity and landscape-scale opportunity.
Utilising a give-and-get format, the 90-minute session will explore financial returns, market opportunities, costs and support mechanisms that may aid in shaping a successful project.
Regen Farmers Mutual CEO, Andrew Ward, will continue to facilitate the events, and says the session will be particularly relevant for groups looking to support better coordination, stronger ecological connections and a clearer case for attracting future resources.
If possible, he advises attendees to come with a Farm Snapshot to better help them understand their own farm-level opportunity.
Exploring the four Pools of Capital (public good, environmental markets, supply chains and local economy), Andrew says the shared frameworks will help farmers explore where value may come from.
Covering costs, yields, scale, price, financing needs, biodiversity opportunities, nature repair and BCT pathways, and the broader upside of OWR, he says their goal is to create a firm understanding of the farm-level financial case.
“For Landcare groups, it is also about seeing how a connected group of Farm Snapshots can support coordination, connection, prioritisation and collective opportunity across the landscape,” he says.
“We will look at opportunities ranging from carbon and nature repair markets to BCT incentives, supply chain opportunities and local economic drivers.
“Value is not just about who may buy the outcome, it is also about the cost of establishment, the finance required, the timing of returns, and the project characteristics that influence whether a project succeeds.”
A third session, titled “How Do We Tell Our Story” will explore communication and will strengthen the value of Open Woodland Restoration at scale.
Videos of the past sessions are available to watch online.
For more information about the April 30 session, or to secure tickets, please visit https://events.humanitix.com/what-is-it-worth-with-open-woodland-restoration
Elizabeth Kovacs
