Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort

24/10/2026

Here at Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, we truly believe in walking the talk.

💚 Caring for the environment has always been at the heart of everything that we do. One of our biggest eco-initiatives to date has been our transition to renewable energy which started back in 2008.

☀️ Shifting to solar was a chance to do better, for the reef, for the wildlife, and for future generations. Today, solar power provides us with a clean and quiet energy source, helping us tread more gently and stay true to our role as custodians of the Great Barrier Reef.

🤝 We’re proud to have partnered with the Reef Islands Initiative who has assisted in us over the past eight years in continuing to reduce our carbon footprint as we work towards our goal of 100% renewable energy.

Want to see more of the island's transformation?

🎥 Watch the full story here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini-update

Produced by BenandDi

🐠 The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

23/10/2026

📺 We’re delighted to see Lady Elliot Island featured in ABC News earlier this month.

🌿 In case you missed it, reporters Grace Whiteside and Johanna Marie visited Lady Elliot Island to share the story of its remarkable restoration, from a landscape stripped bare by guano mining to a thriving coral cay once again home to nesting seabirds.

It was a pleasure welcoming Grace and Johanna to the island and sharing our environment, our conservation work and the history behind Lady Elliot’s journey 💙

👉 Read the full story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-10/guano-mine-rehabilitation-on-lady-elliot-island-birds-return/107138364

👉 Watch the Landline episode here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/programs/landline/2026-10-11/guano-regen-restoration-of-a-fertiliser-island/107247856

Lady Elliot Island sat bare, bleak and silent for 100 years after guano miners ravaged it, leaving a moonscape devoid of life. Then in the 1960s, one family started planting trees.

20/10/2026

Not long ago, Lady Elliot Island was almost unrecognisable. In the late 1800s, this tiny coral cay was mined extensively for guano and used as fertiliser during early civilisation.

By the time mining ceased, the island had been stripped bare. With no topsoil and no native vegetation remaining, Lady Elliot Island was left exposed, dry and inhospitable to wildlife.

For over 50 years, Lady Elliot Island has been on a journey of regeneration, restoring and protecting this unique ecosystem. This ongoing transformation has only been possible thanks to the unwavering dedication of passionate people working hand in hand to return this island to its natural glory 💚

This long-standing commitment has paved the way for the island to be selected in 2018 as the first site for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation's Reef Islands Initiative, a bold program focused on building climate resilience across key reef habitats.

For Lady Elliot Island, it marked the beginning of a new chapter: an eight-year (2018–2026), island-wide mission to restore the islands terrestrial ecosystem. The program has been supported by more than 400 volunteers who passionately give their time, energy and care back to this island 🍃

Today, thanks to decades of collaboration, the island is thriving once again.

Find out more - watch the full video today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini-update

Produced by

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

18/10/2026

🐦 Yesterday’s bird watching tour, led by Cat, was a great one. Here’s what we spotted in just 45 minutes:

🔹 Ruddy Turnstones
🔹 Buff-banded Rail
🔹 Bridled Terns
🔹 Crested Terns
🔹 Black Noddies
🔹 Brown Noddies
🔹 Pacific Golden Plover
🔹 Magpie-lark
🔹 Pied Oystercatcher
🔹 Eastern Reef Egret nest

The star of the show was Pollito, our Red-tailed Tropicbird chick. His name means “little chick” in Spanish, but he’s certainly not so little anymore. He has grown so much already!

📸 Both photos of Pollito were captured by Zara from our team, on 1 October (with parents) and 18 October.

16/10/2026

It takes more than good intentions to restore an island. It takes data, and lots of it! 🐠🪸

Through the Reef Islands Initiative, more than 70 researchers, citizen scientists and students have come together to better understand the biodiversity of the island.

Their work, through the Leaf to Reef: Biodiversity of Lady Elliot Island research program, has given us a full ecological snapshot of Lady Elliot Island - confirming it as a vital sanctuary for both terrestrial and marine species! 💚

Understanding an island is the first step to protecting it.

🎥 See the restoration story of Lady Elliot Island. Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini update

Produced by

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

12/10/2026

Islands are lifelines for the species that depend on the Great Barrier Reef 🐠

Across the Reef's more than 1,000 islands, seabirds find places to stop, nest and feed, and turtles return to the same shores to nest and hatch, generation after generation.

As climate change puts growing pressure on the Reef and everything that calls it home, healthy island habitats matter more now than ever 🪸

Through the Reef Islands Initiative, together we’ve spent the last eight years restoring and protecting Lady Elliot Island for generations to come.

🎥 See how we're bringing Lady Elliot Island back to life - watch the full story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini update

Produced by

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

10/10/2026

Give your Christmas party a little more shell-ebration! 🎉

Swap the office Christmas party for a day on the reef, where your team can snorkel alongside Lady Elliot Island’s resident turtles, explore the Southern Great Barrier Reef and enjoy a festive beachfront lunch 😍

Your Day Tour Includes:
📸 Return Scenic Flights
🍴 Buffet lunch with fresh prawns & beverages
🐋 Glass Bottom Boat & Guided Snorkel Tour
& much more!

It’s a Christmas celebration with a little more ocean, a lot more nature and memories that will last well beyond the festive season.

Find prices, read more and enquire today: https://ladyelliot.com.au/corporate-day-tours/

🤳 07 5536 3644

08/10/2026

Lady Elliot Island is becoming a climate refuge 🪸

As the impacts of climate change intensify on the Great Barrier Reef, species are expected to migrate south in search of cooler conditions.

Thanks to the Leaf to Reef: Biodiversity of Lady Elliot Island research as part of the Reef Islands Initiative, modelling is showing what that could mean for Lady Elliot Island, and the findings are striking. Rather than declining, biodiversity here is projected to hold steady, or even increase.

That makes the health of this island more critical than ever 💚

🎥 Learn how we're restoring Lady Elliot Island - watch the full story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini update

Produced by BenandDi

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

06/10/2026

There's nothing quite like hearing whale song underwater 🐋

Guest reviews like this one are exactly why we do what we do. Jennifer, who visited us in August, shared: "Great to see so many whales passing by, hearing the whale song under water, and if you're lucky as we were, they may even swim past you while you're under water."

Moments like these remind us why we aim to protect this island, reef and its ocean giants, so they're here for generations of guests to come 🌊

Ready to create your own reef story?

Book your visit here: https://ladyelliot.com.au/

We look forward to welcoming you to the Great Barrier Reef 🐢

02/10/2026

🪸 'Life in the Great Barrier Reef' is a breathtaking 360-degree virtual reality (VR) journey through the UNESCO World Heritage listed marine park, taking viewers beneath the surface alongside turtles, manta rays, sharks and whales.

🎬 The film is a White Spark Pictures production, featuring some world-first footage captured around Lady Elliot Island in late 2025.

Experience the film for yourself in VR at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra or at the Western Australian Museum in Perth.

🤞Hopefully it will be on screens in Queensland soon - watch this space for updates!

🎥 You can watch the official trailer here: https://youtu.be/edJ74dXWLAA?si=FJh_y5XjUwhWPdan

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