Welcome to New Futures
– a fresh approach to planning and financing for sustainable land management in the Kiewa-Wodonga area.
On this page you can access webinar recordings, presentation slides and other resources mentioned during New Futures sessions.
We continue to add content as the program progresses.
About the program, participants and partner organisations. (Click to open)
Tuesday Tune-in: We hope you enjoyed session #1; with Andrew (Wardy) Ward (Regen Farmers Mutual), and Anthony Gallacher and Tahnee Burgess (Landcare Victoria). We covered lots of content!
Here's a recap on key points.
It's tricky!
Understanding environmental markets and the trade offs you can put in place on your farm to secure investment and revenue opportunities can feel like a full time job!
TAKEAWAY? As a participant in New Futures, you have the opportunity to learn from and ask questions of subject matter experts in this area.
Take control - get prepared for future requirements:
As we move towards 2026 sustainability standards, farmers will need to report on their scope 3 emissions, and may need to provide emission profiles for insurance and banking. Although some smaller farming businesses won’t meet the thresholds for mandatory climate risk reporting, it’s important to acknowledge you may be part of a supply chain for larger businesses that will.
TAKEAWAY? As a farmer, it's important that you know your gross emissions and if you have any sequestration from previous plantings that count. Either you need your number or someone else will tell you your number! Make time for the on-farm assessments available through New Futures.
We are stronger together:
Existing and emerging environmental markets are looking for individual and landscape scale investment opportunities.
TAKEAWAY? By coming together as a group we can unpack individual opportunities AND collectively identify and explore something valuable for the Kiewa-Wodonga landscape.
Watch the webinar recording on YouTube
Click to view the presentation slides from this session as a PDF
To learn and explore different land management units within our landscape, which units are common across our landscape and discuss how interventions and opportunities relate to each.
We will introduce the concept of "stacking" opportunities for both the landscapes and individual properties. By better understanding our Land Management Units we can understand interventions available both at a farm and landscape scale.
Watch the webinar recording on YouTube
Workshop 1 introduced New Futures and explored what can be achieved by working together and building strong foundations by undertaking key stakeholder mapping and planning for engagement.
Thanks for joining us at Kergunyah Hall on the 6th of June.
Click for a summary (PDF) that captures key points and includes ideas shared during the interactive group feedback session.
EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES
● How can your farm tap into environmental markets and other investment opportunities?
● What collective investment opportunities are available for the Kiewa – Wodonga landscape?
New Futures hosted this Vield Day to shine a spotlight on ‘real world’ environmental investment initiatives and enterprises in our local area and beyond. Come together with other landholders to explore new thinking, hear the why and how behind initiatives, ask questions about investment models, and grow your networks.
An overview of the speakers and topics from our Vield Day, held at La Trobe University Wodonga campus on Friday 8 August.
Managing a farm dam can lower emissions, boost biodiversity, ensure water security, and improve community well-being. Hear how Blue Carbon Lab is working with farmers to protect dams to reduce methane emissions and boost biodiversity.
Video of presentation - YouTube
Natural Capital and Environmental Markets– NSW perspective
As a Natural Capital Advisor, Emily works with landholders across
different settings. Hear about real life examples happening at farm
and landscape level in NSW.
Click to view presentation slides as a PDF
What does research show about productivity and ecological
benefits of interventions? What are the indicators of change? Erin
& Ange explored these queries using practical examples related to farm
dams + remnant vegetation (paddock trees, shelter belts, habitat
corridor.
Click to view presentation slides as a PDF
Held 19 September
About the session:
Setting the scene for this session and project progress
Investor session
Cassinia Environmental and Trust for Nature
Key resources from the final workshop 'Bringing It All Together' including the New Futures emerging opportunities, held Friday 17 October.
This slide deck provides the context around the development of the New Futures project and details the four emerging opportunities for the Kiewa Wodonga landscape.
These summary notes are from our 'deep dive' group discussions held during final workshop - which provide information on our vision, milestones needed and some info re potential partners/investors.
To assist us on the New Futures journey and beyond we will curate a list of resources which provide context, clarity and inspiration.
Keep checking in as we will update these resources as New Futures progresses!
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Emissions reduction resources including information on:
Agriculture Victoria: Understanding Carbon and Emissions
In depth information about carbon and emissions in Agriculture
Agriculture Victoria: Carbon and Emissions Resource Kit
Agrifutures Australia have developed this handy resource which includes practical information on the feasibility of carbon sequestration activities on your farm.
Farm dams are among the most abundant types of artificial waterbodies in Australia.
Blue Carbon Lab is exploring how managing farm dams and floating wetlands can lower emissions, boost biodiversity, ensure water security, and improve community well-being.
The Blue Carbon Lab is also looking at the role freshwater wetlands play in reducing carbon emissions:
Restored wetlands reap benefits for climate, drought-resilience after just one year: study
Reviving floodplain wetlands slashes carbon emissions by 39% and restores critical ecosystem functions in one year – without the methane spike typically seen in restored peatlands, a new study has found.
Read the article on the RMIT news page.
Carbon sequestration by Victorian inland wetlands (PDF).
Report by Blue Carbon Lab, Deakin University.
Rabobank has produced a number of videos and fact sheets about EP projects (Environmental Plantings, carbon farming projects) and also outlines sustainability products and initiatives to help ease initial borrowing costs for eligible activities related to establishing a new EP project.
A great case study from Rabobank about the Environmental Plantings method.
A Clean Energy Regulator webinar to learn about the tools and resources available to help you estimate carbon abatement from your project and earn credits under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
Topics covered include:
Landcare Victoria page about the Carbon Farming Outreach Program including these fact sheets:
Nature Kit
NatureKit is a free online mapping and data exploration tool for biodiversity data integration and decision support. People can overlay and link related biodiversity datasets, and use several tools to query, extract and download information by areas or other layer features.
environment.vic.gov.au/biodiversity/naturekit
…
Atlas of Living Australia
The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is a collaborative, national project that serves as Australia’s primary online biodiversity database, providing free access to information about the country’s unique species. It aggregates data from diverse sources, including universities, museums, and government agencies, to support research, environmental monitoring, conservation, education, and citizen science initiatives through its user-friendly web platform and powerful data analysis tools.
ala.org.au
…
Mapshare (Vic wetlands)
MapShareVic is an interactive online mapping application in Victoria, Australia, that provides location-based information on properties, forests, public lands, and water. Users can search for addresses or place names, view aerial imagery, turn on different data layers, and generate property reports.
mapshare.vic.gov.au/mapsharevic
BirdLife Australia program overview flyer
View PDF
Landholder guidance: A checklist for partnering on carbon farming projects
The Carbon Market Institute has released a practical guide to help landholders navigate the process of starting a carbon farming project under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
This guidance provides a step-by-step resource for landholders on the different stages of developing and delivering an ACCU Scheme project, while also including a comprehensive series of checklists to cover key questions that should be asked before entering a carbon farming agreement.
This pilot of the New Futures for Victorian Landcare project is hosted by Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups and Wodonga Urban Landcare Network.
Landcare Victoria and project partners are grateful for the funding support for this project from The Ian Potter Foundation and the Natural Resources Conservation Trust.
