ReForest Now is restoring rainforest in the northeast of New South Wales, in the area around Byron Bay. Of the original rainforest there, the Big Scrub, only a tiny remnant is left. We last wrote about the project in detail in 2022. It’s high time for an update, and there’s quite a bit to tell.
The millionth tree
On 27 November 2025, ReForest Now planted the millionth tree in Australia in Teven in the north of New South Wales. Since then, the tree counter on the website has kept counting, and as of today it stands at 1,088,098 trees in Australia.
The figures are in the 2024/25 annual report: 133,965 trees planted in Australia in that financial year, 262 different species in its own nursery and 71 staff. Together with a second programme in Indonesia, it was the organisation’s strongest year so far.
What was planted recently
ReForest Now publishes a monthly newsletter and reports individual planting days on LinkedIn. A few examples from the last few weeks:
- August 2026: 9,500 new trees on six properties in northern New South Wales, including 650 trees in Newrybar on 27 August and 435 trees in Main Arm on 31 August.
- September 2026: five plantings in Doon Doon with 10,555 trees in total. That brings the corridor between Nightcap and Mount Jerusalem National Parks to 66,977 trees since 2023.
Many of these sites belong to private landholders who work with ReForest Now.
How the planting works
ReForest Now plants densely, about 1.5 metres apart. The aim is for the canopy to close after around three years, so the young forest can hold its own against grass and weeds. Until then, the team looks after the sites, by its own account for up to five years. ReForest Now raises most of the seedlings in its own nursery.
Banyula: almost there
We reported on the Banyula project on Saratini Farms in 2022. At that time, 150,000 of 300,000 planned trees had been planted. Today it’s 290,000, according to the project page. After the floods of recent years, ReForest Now has also stabilised the bank of the Wilsons River there, according to the annual report with 5,500 plants that cope better with high water.
New: a project in the government conservation register
In May 2026, the Australian Clean Energy Regulator registered the second project ever in its new conservation scheme, the “Nature Repair Market”. It’s in Doon Doon, about 70 kilometres inland from Byron Bay, and ReForest Now plants there, as it reports in its July 2026 newsletter. On almost 20 hectares of cleared land, wet forest and rainforest are to grow back there, adjoining Nightcap National Park. That connects habitats for koalas and other animals.
The team’s home is new too: in July, ReForest Now opened its new office and nursery on Gulgan Road.
What this means for your review forest
Through ReviewForest, you fund trees with ReForest Now in eastern Australia. Planting happens in batches on the project sites, not on the day a review comes in with you. There’s no photo of every single tree, ReForest Now documents sites and planting days. You can find more about the project and the map of the planting sites on our ReForest Now partner page.
