When people think about reforestation, they typically picture planting crews, freshly prepared ground and rows of young trees taking root across a landscape.

But successful reforestation starts long before the first seedling reaches the field.

It starts by understanding the soil and preparing an environment that will enable seedlings to thrive, but also extends to a detailed process that hinges on whether the nursery can deliver robust seedlings with the best chance of success.

As the saying goes – if you put rubbish in, you get rubbish out – so making sure you have quality seedlings from the outset, will go a long way towards the success of the reforestation.

In landscape rehabilitation, success isn’t just determined by what you do, but also when you do it.

Rainfall, soil moisture, wind and temperature all influence whether work can proceed, whether plants establish, and how systems perform over time.

Many projects still rely on distant weather stations or historical averages to guide critical decisions, but in reality, site conditions don’t always match the forecast.

Installing a site-based weather station changes how rehabilitation projects are planned and delivered.

How do you actually create a system that functions, especially when the most fundamental resource – topsoil - is limited?

Across Australia, one of the most persistent challenges in mine closure is the availability and quality of topsoil. Even where topsoil exists, volumes are often insufficient, variability is high, and storage can degrade its biological and structural integrity rapidly.

The result? Rehabilitation strategies that rely on topsoil alone are increasingly constrained - and in many cases, fundamentally misaligned with the scale of the challenge. But there are solutions.

Ecological engineering is rapidly emerging as a critical tool for businesses under pressure to meet ESG expectations — not just on paper, but in practice. This isn’t a theoretical framework — it’s a proven approach Verterra has applied across mining, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and urban development.

Plants “breathe in” CO2 and “exhale” oxygen, in the process storing carbon, but just how much does the average tree (and forest) store, and how do we measure this?