ActivAcre is a significant step forward in land management options offered to landowners who wish to have trees on their farms, says SFM's Managing Director Andrew Morgan.

As one of Australia's largest independent plantation management businesses, Andrew and his team will manage the ActivAcre Program on behalf of New Forests.

This means a local team with an intimate knowledge of the farming, forestry and emerging carbon markets, backed by a sustainable, real asset investment company.

"We are entrepreneurial by nature, and we like to be innovative in our approach."

For Andrew, the ActivAcre Program is beneficial not only for landowners but also for industry and the environment.

"This is a blended project focussing on both carbon sequestration and the timber products that a well-managed plantation can produce and importantly it's all certified by globally recognised third parties," he said.

"ActivAcre is able to offer competitive lease rates as it focuses on the value generated from both carbon and timber products. This is critical given where we are at with climate change and the future demand for timber in Australia, we need to have programs like this that are flexible in nature and strive to partner with landowners and the community – the right tree in the right place for the right reasons".

"It focuses on providing a level of flexibility for landowners to have trees in their landscape that won't impact other farming pursuits. In fact, it'll enhance them."

Andrew is confident in the partnership between SFM and New Forests.

"This isn't retail investors. It's backed by institutional investors with real money. We are talking about super and pension funds, so it's real cash, not debt," he said.

"New Forests are a thoughtful, environmentally focused impact partner and they're coming together with a local player that has been through the ups and downs in the local industry and has grown up within the sector."

Andrew Morgan is the Managing Director of SFM Environmental Solutions. Born in Burnie, he moved to Hobart to study a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Botany and Zoology at the University of Tasmania. He's been providing consulting and management services across the forest industry for nearly three decades.