Welcome to the Team Alex!

Project Manager
Low Carbon and Restoration Landscapes

We are excited to introduce Alex Johnson, who joined the Wheatbelt NRM team as a Project Manager in January. Alex comes with a strong foundation in business management and operations, complemented by his academic background in conservation and wildlife biology from Murdoch University, along with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from the University of Western Australia (UWA), which he completed in 2012. His research project, "Quantifying the Trade-offs Between Agricultural Management Practices and Ecosystem Services," exemplifies his deep understanding of the balance between land use and environmental sustainability.

Originally from Toodyay, Alex has recently returned to Western Australia and is enthusiastic about connecting with and supporting the Wheatbelt community in his new role.

Alex will be leading Wheatbelt NRM's innovative pilot project, Wheatbelt Land-use Paradigms – Navigating New Industries in the Low Carbon and Natural Capital Era. This exciting project will be delivered with the valuable support of project partners UWA, the Farm Optimisation Group, and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program under the Natural Heritage Trust, the pilot will develop economic modelling at farm-scale to assess the viability of commercial carbon, biomass, and biodiversity revegetation projects on less productive areas of the farm and discuss the pros and cons of various project partnerships available to growers. Research findings will be compiled into a Grower Industry Scoping Report incorporating grower, advisor, project developer, and Noongar perspectives to assist business decisions going forward.

The project is grower-led, and the call is out to have your say via a Grower Reference Group and survey (to be released soon).

If you have a perspective to contribute, whether that be experience with a carbon, biomass or biodiversity project in a market context, or want to have your say about how the sector develops, please join the Grower Reference Group during February by contacting Alex.