High Valley Dawn Founder Ross O’Reilly and his team were honoured to have their ongoing sustainable practices recognised.

Eco Tourism Australia’s world-first and highly regarded ecotourism program was developed to identify our leading and most innovative ecotourism products that operate with minimal environmental impact and are committed to using resources wisely, contributing to conserving the environment and helping local communities.

“The High Valley Dawn journey began a while back when our passion for wellness and sustainable development collided with a desire to serve fresh, local, organically grown produce in our nearby restaurant, Beaches,” Ross said.

“Fast forward almost a decade, and we now have established a two-acre market garden, a two-acre food forest and a two-acre bush tucker forest.”

“From day one we chose to be totally off-grid with a solar-powered farmhouse and learning centre, pumps, bores, and gravity fed irrigation systems. We also have a natural biofiltered desalination plant in operation.”

As well as hosting a small but growing community of volunteers who share Ross’s family’s passion, the farm  near Yeppoon is also home to many free-range animals including horses, ducks, chickens, cattle, sheep, working dogs, turkeys, geese and pigs.

“Our vision for the future includes a community education centre, more homes and cabins dotted around the property, a community garden, a temple and infrastructure necessary to host weddings, festivals, retreats, conferences, workshops and events,” Ross said.

Capricorn Enterprise CEO Mary Carroll congratulated to Ross and the team at High Valley Dawn for the recognition which supports the Capricorn Coast’s commitment to becoming an eco destination.

“We now have seven local operators on the Capricorn Coast who are eco-accredited at various levels including Pumpkin Island (Advanced Ecotourism), Capricorn Caves (Advanced Ecotourism), Capricorn Star Charters (Ecotourism), Coral Inn Boutique (Ecotourism), Keppel Dive (Ecotourism), Freedom Fast Cats (Ecotourism) and High Valley Dawn Permaculture Farm (Advanced Ecotourism),” Mary said.

Ecotourism Australia is a not-for-profit organisation representing more than 500 environmentally responsible operators, 1,600 products and an increasing number of ecotourism destinations.