Located in on Waka Waka and Barrangum Country near Queensland’s Kingaroy, Wooden Hut is growing on red volcanic soil. Forests planted on this highly productive soil will sequester high levels of carbon. Greenfleet purchased this property to restore the ecosystem and remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Planted in 2024, Greenfleet is working to return the endangered native Dry Swamp forest ecosystem, which has been cleared for pulp wood and crop farming by successive generations. Nearly 50 different species of native trees were planted to return native habitat to this area where only very small sections of remnant vegetation remain.
Location & Map
The Wooden Hut planting consists of just over 79 hectares located northeast of the Wide Bay-Burnett biodiversity corridor which includes the Bunya Mountains National Park and Diamondy State Forest.
This project lies within the South Burnett region on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range. Water sources close to Wooden Hut include Deep Creek which connects to the Stuart River that flows into Burnett River and out into the Great Barrier Reef. Management of soil and water quality is important to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff flowing into the world’s largest coral Reef, one of Australia’s great natural wonders.
Revegetation Approach & Species Selection
Greenfleet is restoring native Dry Swamp forest at Wooden Hut, an endangered ecosystem which once extended across approximately 36,000 hectares in the region, and now only less than a quarter remains.
To promote biodiversity on the property, 47 varieties of native plant species native trees have been planted. Additional planting of the slower growing species will be added in the following year.
This cleared area was once known for its eucalypts, and Greenfleet has planted eight species, four of which are preferred foraging for koalas. These are the Small-fruited Grey gum (Eucalyptus propinqua), Grey gum (Eucalyptus punctata), Forest red gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis), and Grey box (Eucalyptus moluccana). Queensland’s koala populations were declared endangered in 2022, by restoring their habitat we hope to encourage them to return to the area.
Certain seeds for this type of revegetation can take up to two years to grow into seedlings ready for planting. This is due to some plants fruiting only occasionally to produce the seed, then being very slow growing in the nursery. One example is the local Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii) which only flowers every three to four years. Greenfleet is dedicated to taking the required long-term approach to revegetate this forest.
Wildlife Habitat Restoration
By planting a high number of different species, this forest is growing to support a greater diversity of invertebrates and animals over time.
One example is the Collared delma, a legless lizard that is listed as vulnerable which inhabits thick leaf litter of undistrurbed forest as it hunts for insects. Greenfleet has planted five species of Acacias to attract the Wattle moth and Northern brown house moth that could provide food for the Collared delma. To support local populations of the vulnerable Glossy Black-Cockatoo, we have planted Black she-oak (Allocasuarina litteralis) as food trees for these small cockatoos with distinctive orange-red tail feathers.
The Greater glider is known to inhabit the nearby Bunya Mountains National Park, and this endangered glider needs large trees with hollows to breed. The 100 years on title protection of this Greenfleet forest will opportunity to grow, allowing hollows to form in established trees for gliders and other hollow-nesting species.
Climate Action
Greenfleet uses the Full Carbon Account Model (FullCAM) to measure the carbon uptake at our revegetation sites. This model was developed by the CSIRO and is approved by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The forest growing at Wooden Hut will sequester significant levels of carbon due to the unique red volcanic soils. As it grows, this forest will capture more carbon, as it develops trees with a high variety of leaves, maximising photosynthesis. Leaf litter twill also contain more carbon molecules within it and return more carbon to the soil. You can read more about this process here.
The forest growing at Wooden Hut is legally protected for 100 years. Over that time, it will remove over 152,560 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of what 35,481 average vehicles emit on Australia’s roads in a single year.
Location Size
79 hectares near Kingaroy, Qld
Planting Dates
2024
Species
Southern Salwood (Acacia disparrima)
Feathery Wattle (Acacia glaucocarpa)
Lightwood (Acacia implexa)
Green Wattle (Acacia irrorata)
Early Flowering Black Wattle (Acacia leiocalyx)
Hairy Alectryon (Alectryon connatus)
Black She Oak (Allocasuarina litteralis)
Soap Bush (Alphitonia excelsa)
Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii)
Hoop Pine (Araucaria cuninghamii)
White Booyong (Argyrodendron trifoliolatum)
Diamond Leaved Pittosporum (Auranticarpa rhombifolia)
Qld Bottletree (Brachychiton rupestris)
Bimbil (Capparis mitchellii)
Round Lime (Citrus australis)
Pink Bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia)
Small-Leaved Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis parvifolia)
Boxwood (Denhamia pittosporoides)
Clubwood (Dinosperma erythrococcum)
Narrow-Leaved Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra)
Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus fibrosa)
Grey Gum (Eucalyptus longirostrata)
Gum-Topped Box (Eucalyptus moluccana)
Small Fruited Grey Gum (Eucalyptus propinqua)
Grey Gum (Eucalyptus punctata)
Northern Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus siderophloia)
Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis)
Scrub Poison Tree (Excoecaria dallachyana)
Small Leaved Fig (Ficus obliqua)
Crow's Ash (Flindersia australis)
Leopard Ash (Flindersia collina)
Long Jack (Flindersia xanthoxala)
Bunmpy Ash (Flindersis shotiana)
Axe Gapper (Geijera salicifolia)
Southern Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta)
Blunt Leaved Tulip Wood (Harpullia hillii)
Foambark (Jagera pseudorhus)
Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus)
Red Kamala (Mallotus philippensis)
White Cedar (Melia azedarach)
Native Olive (Notelaea microcarpa)
Snow Wood (Pararchidendron pruinosum)
Burdekin Plum (Pleiogynium timorense)
Brown Pine (Podocarpus elatus)
Black Pencil Cedar (Polyscias elegans)
Tulip Satinwood (Rhodosphaera rhodanthema)
Peanut Tree (Sterculia quadrifida)
Red Cedar (Toona ciliata)
Yellow Hollywood (Vitex lignum-vitae)