Two Newcastle doctors are leading the "rewilding" of a $2 million property in the Byron Bay hinterland.
They are planting thousands of trees and improving the soil to restore the land and re-establish a forest.
Dr Jane Morgan and her husband Dr John Van Der Kallen formed a company called "Seven Generations Forestry" to buy the 80-hectare site.
They offered shares of the Nimbin property to friends, family and colleagues. About 90 per cent of the shares have been sold to about 25 shareholders, about half of them from the Hunter.
Those involved travel to the property when possible to help plant trees. Nimbin locals are also involved, particularly with sharing knowledge of the area's trees.
Dr Morgan said the "seven generations" name was suggested by a friend.
"It's an old Indigenous American Indian concept. They made decisions based on seven generations, instead of one."
That is, decisions made now should foster a sustainable world for seven generations.
"We love that concept and also the fact that this is for our kids," Dr Morgan said.
The purchase of the property, an old cattle farm, was settled in February.
The couple have owned the neighbouring 51-hectare property for 25 years. It was an old cattle farm, too.
Two species of hardwood trees were grown on two-thirds of that property in a joint venture with State Forests for sustainable logging. But the forestry service decided against logging the site, so the trees remain.
The other third of the site was left to regenerate.
Dr Van Der Kallen, who is chair of Doctors for the Environment Australia, said that part of the site was for a "carbon sink".
The new land they bought is "quite run down".
"It doesn't have much nutrition in the soil anymore. It needs regenerating from that perspective," he said.
"A lot of it is along the creek that flows into Lismore. It's important for flood mitigation to regenerate the creek lines because that helps reduce flood risk."
As well as protecting and increasing biodiversity on the site, they plan to do forestry.
"We're establishing plantations that will one day be harvested. These hardwood trees have a 30- to 40-year cycle generally," he said.
"Who knows, in 40 years that forest might be a quite precious asset."
The site could become part of the carbon credit system, in which people and companies can buy credits to offset their carbon footprint.
"The carbon credit world is moving pretty quickly. We'll see where that lands. We need some kind of income to keep it going with the costs," he said.
Dr Morgan said they would be "choosy about who we would sell carbon credits to and what for".
Any buyers would have to meet "ethical, sustainability and governance standards".
"We wouldn't sell them to fossil fuel companies or anyone for greenwashing," she said.
Kevin and Gina Cranson, of New Lambton, are among the land's shareholders.
Mr Cranson, who drives his electric vehicle to the property, said he "loves the planting".
"It's usually rainforest trees and hardwood. We're regenerating, rewilding the rainforest around the creek banks," he said.
"I've always wanted to do something like this, then this fell in our lap."
As he plants trees on the new property, he can see the adjacent land and admire the trees that have grown there over two decades.
"It's pretty inspiring. There's that Chinese saying the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second best time is now."
Gina added that planting trees with friends is "such a beautiful and effective way to turn my climate change-induced negativity and fear into something positive."
Dr Morgan said the hardwood trees that were planted on their original property had provided a canopy for an old rainforest valley to regenerate.
"We've done some planting in areas. We've had a lot of help to identify species and do weed control. Then nature has done the rest," she said.
"We've seen echidnas on our property. We have pythons, birds, platypus and we're hoping we have koalas. We've heard a few."
The property is a sanctuary for the two doctors.
"My phone doesn't work there," Dr Van Der Kallen said.
"There's lots of lantana up there, so we often get a few saws and machetes and go and hack some lantana for a few days. That always makes you feel pretty good."
They consider the place to be "a reset" from their daily lives.
She's a GP and he's a rheumatologist.
"The last few years have been the hardest years I've experienced, despite me being at my most experienced with 25 years of general practice under my belt," she said, referring to the pandemic, a distressed population and the under-resourced sector.
Dr Van Der Kallen said patients have been more stressed and anxious.
"They've been concerned about COVID and we've had these climate events like floods, fire and drought."
The health of people is mirrored in the health of the environment.
"Our theme at Doctors for the Environment is 'healthy planet, healthy people'. Our health is inexorably linked to the environment," he said.
"Think about clean water, air and soil. Without that, you can't have nutritious food or good airways.
"If you have dirty water and dirty air, that increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and cancers. If you eat the wrong foods, that increases your risk of cancer."
The regeneration of the two Nimbin properties reflects the "planetary health" movement, which refers to the symbiotic connections between human health and the Earth's natural systems.
Dr Morgan said planetary health is essential because "we depend on the planet for our survival".
"There's lots of evidence that just being in nature is good for your health. Also things like riding a bike rather than driving a car and diet are really relevant."
Dr Van Der Kallen said Doctors for the Environment has been going for more than 20 years.
"It's only just in the last year or two that we really feel like we're getting significant traction," he said.
"It's good that things are moving, but society still has to move away from burning fossil fuels because that's the problem."
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