About 6000 native trees and shrubs have been planted in a small-scale trial of Project LEAF, a three-way collaboration designed to tackle airborne dust in Port Hedland.
BHP, Curtin University, and Greening Australia are working together on the project, with major work scheduled for next year.
The project, to be implemented in three phases, was initiated by BHP.
The demonstration site in Anderson Street covering 2000 square metres was completed this year and was used to assess various species and configurations and to monitor performance before planting in stages one and two.
Stage one is set to commence in 2022, with 82,000 seedlings to be planted over about 2.5ha from Darlot Street to Morgan Street.
Stage two final planning has started, to cover an area from Short Street to Taplin Street.
The vegetation buffer offers several benefits including:
- Developing a climate-proof alternative.
- Providing a visual screen of tall, dense and complex vegetation between industry and residential areas.
- Improving visual amenity, air quality, and showcasing Pilbara native species.
IBN Nursery has supplied seedlings for the project, Yurra contractors has partnered with Greening Australia for the design and installation of irrigation, surface treatments, planting, and maintenance, and Pilbara Environmental has been engaged for qualitative and quantitative monitoring after construction.