Zero Emissions Byron’s ‘C02 Drawdown Stories’ is a quest to find and share Byron Shire’s most effective carbon sequestration projects and the dedicated, determined champions who are driving them. 


 

Episode 1: Biodiverse Reforestation Sequesters Carbon 

Celebrating the work of carbon drawdown champion Claire Oelrichs who has self funded the planting 50,000 trees since 1991 on her property in Cooper Shoot near Bangalow. Using the fullCAM methodology, Zero Emissions Byron has estimated that she sequesters CO2 equivalent to the annual emissions of 250 cars and over 27 years has drawn down approximately 15,000 tonnes of CO2. Claire’s personal restoration project here in the Northern Rivers has directed her life toward implementing CO2 drawdown projects in National Parks in Sumatra and Aceh, Indonesia. In this Decade of Ecological Restoration we need characters such as Claire to inspire us all to take action and maximise the drawdown potential of our land. 

Episode 2: Good Fire Sequesters Carbon

Two passionate local carbon drawdown champions, fire ecologist Dr Andy Baker and Bundjalung cultural fire practitioner Oliver Costello, encourage us to befriend fire and use it as a regenerative force rather than allow it to be an uncontrolled destructive one. 

They share their knowledge of the multiple benefits of reinstating cool mosaic burning in open forest ecosystems and while it may seem counterintuitive, good fire actually plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle.

The CO2 drawn down by a forests vigorous regrowth after a fire is equivalent to the smoke emissions created during the fire. The charcoal created by good fire, which is almost pure carbon, is additional and is then locked away long-term in our soils, rivers, wetlands and oceanic sinks. 

If you are a landholder in the Byron Shire interested implementing good fire on your land please Register here with Byron Shire Council . Council will then be able to aggregate properties and apply for future funding opportunities.