Education

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort provides one of Queensland’s most amazing and accessible ecotourism experiences on the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Our goal is to provide students from Australia and abroad with life changing moments and world class experiences through natural encounters both above and below the water. Participate in seasonal tours, presentations, reef monitoring and revegetation sessions conducted by our experienced guides. Packages are available which include scenic flights from Hervey Bay.

Our resident degree qualified Marine Biologists and knowledgeable Activities Guides provide tours and information on all aspects of the coral cay ecosystem. With four (4) types of accommodation available, the Resort and our facilities are perfect for larger groups and teachers operating on a budget, packages can be discussed to suit your needs.

Universities such as the University of New South Wales and the University of Georgia regularly use Lady Elliot Island for research trips and educational excursions.

School groups including Heathcote High School, Menai High School, Cleveland High School, Craigslea High School, Matthew Flinders Anglican College, Helensvale State High School, Chancellor State College, Great Lakes College, St Peters Catholic College, Calrossy Anglican High School, Cherrybrook Technology High School and Xavier College have enjoyed school camps and excursions on the Island, catered for with activity sheets and hands on activities to educate and entertain your students on the amazing reef environment.

Please enquire via the Booking Enquiry Form for all-inclusive prices for your school/education group.

 

 

Australian Government – Kids for the Reef School Excursion Rebate Program

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is also an Austrade-approved High Standard Tourism Operator under the Kids for the Reef School Excursion Rebate Program.

This Australia-wide initiative provides eligible schools with rebates of $20 to $400 per student. The program aims to inspire the next generation of reef stewards by making meaningful Great Barrier Reef experiences more accessible to students across the country.

Details on the subsidy include;

• Great Barrier Reef excursion must be booked with a registered High Standard Tourism Operator
• The trip must include an eligible activity relating to the Australian Curriculum including but not limited to:
  • on-water and in-water experiences
  • on-island experiences directly interacting with the Reef and conservation
  • other curriculum-linked reef education activities
• The $10 million in funding provides eligible schools between $20 and $400 per student
• Applications are open until 12th May 2028, or until available funding is exhausted.

If you’re planning a school excursion or educational group visit, please reach out to our team to enquire about the unique range of activities, tours and talks that are available to student groups visiting the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

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“I was so pleased and excited to arrive at Lady Elliot Island for our latest visit and find the Education Centre had been redesigned and renovated. It looked amazing! It looked fresh and exciting but most importantly for my students, it was extremely informative. The pictures are accurate and taken by visiting researchers and give a good indication of the surrounding environment.” – Kelly Goodingham – Marine Studies Teacher, St Teresa’s Catholic College

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“Lady Elliot Island is the jewel in the crown of our South Queensland study abroad programmes for our North American university faculty and students! LEI offers unique and life-changing educational content in a breath-taking location. Recent feedback includes, “What can I say… the island is amazing …the staff (Barry, Jess and the office staff) was phenomenal.”, “I was very impressed with Jess’s knowledge of marine ecology… she has all the knowledge and passion required to drive the students’ interest in reef ecology and conservation… (she) captivated the students (they loved her!).”, “I needed to change the schedule entirely and Jess worked with me and the LEI staff to accommodate our needs quickly and without issue.”, ”The experience was quite transformational for several of them (the students).” AUIP goes back to LEI year after year for these reasons and more. We have recently incorporated LEI into two new university programmes for 2020 and we can’t wait for them to get there! – Helen Beumelburg, Operations and Programs Manager, American Universities International Programs Limited

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We at Discover Abroad (University of Georgia) have made our trips to Lady Elliot Island one of the cornerstones of our sustainability programs. We spend 3 – 4 days immersed in marine education experiences, the end result of which is that our students feel not only a deeper connection to this particular environment but also have a deeper understanding of the consequences of their own activities in the global environment. The resort management and staff support us in many ways, providing learning space, snorkelling activities, behind the scenes tours, and great food! Above all, the resort strives to “walk the talk” of sustainability, and thus provides a real example of what is possible given the opportunity and right frame of mind. – Mikell, Discover Abroad Groups, University of Georgia

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“I recently returned from taking a yr 12 marine science excursion to LEI. 39 of us. We were very impressed with the changes to the island and appreciate the effort and challenges involved in making the island even more spectacular. The students were moved by the amazing hard work of the staff, creating a thank you card for them and presenting it to them.

THANK YOU for continuing to accept our beautiful students to your island where they can learn first hand the concepts of reef health and diversity. They are always grateful and forever reflective of their time there saying ‘best trip ever’ even once they’ve been out of the college for years. I know their families continue to return, in fact, while I was there one of my past students was there with her family on a dive trip. Lady Elliot is a very special place for sure and I couldn’t think of a better caretaker than you Peter” Sheree Bell, Matthew Flinders Anglican College