We face the multiple challenges of a changing climate – the warming of which the latest IPCC report states has been unequivocally accelerated by human activity. These times require nimbleness, intelligence, care and urgent, yet well thought out, action. The team at Carbon Positive Australia has put together ten actionable steps that you can take now that will have a significant impact on the Earth!

Last month we introduced you to Jess Fitzgerald our Commercial & Carbon Project Coordinator in the first of our team profile series we have dubbed “The Change Makers”. This month, we are featuring Pollyanna Darling, Head of Community & Philanthropy.

A key component selecting Carbon Positive Australia was Catherine Patterson! While we had discussions with many other organisations, Catherine has been – by far – the most responsive. Whenever we had a question, we received an answer.

We’re a team of thinkers, makers, and doers, and we advocate for the environment every day. At the heart of everything we do at Carbon Positive Australia is community, trees, and climate, and we would like to take you on a journey to meet some of the team in our new feature series “The Change Makers.” This month we are introducing you to Jess Fitzgerald, Commercial & Carbon Project Coordinator.

"We are sending a message that greener businesses can be very valuable economically, and in doing so, we hope we can contribute to a wider shift in attitudes towards sustainability at this crucial time."

If it were a country, plastic would be the fifth-highest emitter in the world. Australians are the biggest consumers of single-use plastic waste globally, producing an average of 59kg of plastic waste per person a year. The more plastic made that we use, the more fossil fuels we need, and in turn, we exacerbate climate change. It is estimated that by 2040, there will be 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste present in our environment. So how do we address the problem?

In 2010, we planted 160 hectares of native, salt-tolerant species at the Badgebup site. Due to lack of rainfall and extreme soil types, seedling survival from the initial planting was poor, and much of the site was replanted in 2011. Thanks to favourable weather conditions and the selection of more salt-tolerant species, the replant was a success, and in 2017 we planted an additional 80 hectares. The aim of this planting is to assist drainage and mitigate further damage to the salt-affected landscape. It was clear that in some areas of the 2017 planting had been very successful, and some thinning may be needed in the future.

In 1995 the UN declared 17 June as ‘World Combat Desertification and Drought Day’. This year the day focuses on turning degraded land into healthy land. According to the UN, nearly three-quarters of the Earth’s ice-free land has been transformed, mainly to meet the demand for food, raw materials, and human settlement. A little closer to home, in the last 200 years, nearly 40% of Australia’s forests have been cut down, leaving behind fragmented landscapes.

June marks the start of another planting season. On some project sites planting has already begun and will continue on throughout July. Since last years plantings we’ve been busy checking in with current projects and starting up new, exciting ones too. To keep you up to date with where your donations and our work has progressed, below highlights our newest field updates and what’s to come.

Biodiversity is the needle that threads us all together and is a reminder that we are very much connected to nature. It includes and affects every living thing on our planet, from a tiny sandalwood seed to the tallest Eucalyptus regnans; from the smallest Pygmy Possum to the largest Red Kangaroo; from you to me. It has a direct impact on all of our lives. As humans, biodiversity gives us a functioning ecosystem that provides oxygen, clear air and water, plant pollutions, pest control, wastewater treatment, and ecosystem services.

“We have to take real action now, and partnering with Carbon Positive in Australia to help reduce emissions and also restore native Australian habitat was a logical choice and something our entire Australian team is passionate about.”

There is growing recognition of the relationship that trees and forests play regarding climate change. The interactions between forests, water, and energy provide not only the foundations for carbon storage but for cooling the Earth’s surfaces and distributing our global water resources.