Brookton Sandalwood, WA​

This 33-hectare project is located on a working farm in WA’s Wheatbelt region, an area that has been extensively cleared for agriculture, leaving much of the soil fragile and prone to wind and water erosion.

We are working with Dr Peter Ritson (FarmWoods), Ros MacFarlane (Sandalwood Solutions) and the Wheatbelt NRM Noongar Budjar Rangers to restore health to less productive areas of the farm. We are using a species mix that has been designed to replicate the region’s natural Acacia and sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) woodlands. Once the sandalwood trees reach maturity (around 25 years), the landholders can harvest the valuable nuts and timber. The rest of the planting will remain, and help to reduce the impact of wind erosion, restore soil health, and encourage the return of biodiversity to the area.   

Since 2019, approximately 27,000 seedlings and 126 kg of native seed have been hand-planted across the site. Further infill planting is scheduled for winter 2022 to bulk up patchy areas.