Wetlands are some of the most productive and valuable ecosystems on earth, yet we have directly and indirectly degraded 64-71% of these ecosystems over the past two centuries. Ecosystem disturbances, e.g. pollution and livestock grazing and pugging, can cause significant carbon losses from marginal coastal agricultural soils. Exclusion fencing and replanting have the potential to recover soil carbon stocks and sequestration through revegetation and soil retention. However, these soil carbon benefits from restoration have yet to be systematically quantified in Australia and represent a significant unknown for an emerging (blue) carbon market. Here we will present several on-ground restoration projects along the Victorian coastline to highlight how exclusion fencing and other wetland restoration techniques impact vegetation and soil carbon benefits. With the help of citizen scientists, we assess multiple responses, including revegetation, plant and soil carbon cycling and stocks, and greenhouse gas emissions. By comparing saltmarsh and mangrove ecosystems that have been restored for 1 – 35 years to natural sites and those that have the potential to be restored but are still being impacted, this body of work is contributing to our understanding of the timeframes and scale of blue carbon benefits and returns after restoration.