Founded in 2018 to urgently protect the world’s single greatest fossil record of first animal life, the Foundation achieves its purpose through in situ conservation, and supporting education and tourism, making the fossils and their significance accessible for all.
THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation is dedicated to protecting and conserving these fossils, and ensuring they are well managed for current and future generations to experience and learn from them.
We also want to ensure the fossils continue to be the subject of critical palaeontological research, ensuring South Australia is at the forefront of science.
Our fossil record is not only unique in having so many species, and such an extraordinary record of the ecology of the marine environment from this distant past; it provides unparalleled insight into how animal life evolved in a changing environment on Earth. Recognising the site’s historical significance, NASA has supported research in the Flinders Ranges for many years.
The Foundation continues to work closely with land managers, researchers, institutions, and the traditional owners and broader community of the Flinders Ranges, to ensure our Ediacaran legacy is a source of pride and opportunity.
Ensuring the fossils are accessible, well managed and inspiring the next generation of future scientists is an important part of our goal. The fossils also have an artistic legacy – they are a thing of rare beauty and have inspired internationally renowned musicians and artists such as Elena Kats-Chernin, Cathy Milliken, Gabriella Smart and Constantine Koukias.
The Nilpena site, which has been so well managed by Ross and Jane Fargher, will be protected as a national park, and its future is secured thanks to the support of and ongoing partnership with the South Australian Government. But this achievement is only the beginning. We hope you will be inspired to contribute to the creation of a new legacy for the Flinders Ranges, our state, and our planet.
To ensure the Foundation proceeds wisely and with a worldwide perspective our Board includes international experts in palaeontology, strategic marketing, social media, business innovation, finance and law.
The Flinders Ranges Ediacara Foundation Impact Council will provide global perspective, connection to relevant communities, and the wisdom of extraordinary experience.
Institutional Mission & Purpose
The Flinders Ranges Ediacara Foundation exists to conserve the Ediacara fossils of the Flinders Ranges in perpetuity, and to ensure the world benefits from the knowledge they embody.
Vision & Commitments
The Nilpena site will be supported by a secure and sustainable plan.
Learnings from Nilpena will be available to interested people anywhere in the world. The site will become the most important Ediacara fossil site in the world.

THE FOUNDATION
FROM THE CHAIR:
MARY LOU SIMPSON
The Foundation’s goal is to make a practical contribution to an extraordinary part of South Australia’s heritage; the world-renowned Ediacara fossils.
The Foundation was founded in 2018 as a non-profit organisation, with the purpose to urgently protect the world’s single greatest fossil record of first animal life.
We achieve our purpose through in-situ conservation and by supporting education and tourism, ensuring the fossils and their significance remain accessible for all. We are working with government and a range of partners to create a long-term asset for the Flinders Ranges, and to support the protection of this fossil heritage in perpetuity.
To ensure we proceed wisely and with a worldwide perspective, we have appointed a board which includes international experts in palaeontology, strategic marketing, media, business innovation, finance and law.
The Foundation is embarking on an ambitious construction and preservation program at Nilpena as the first stage in achieving its goals. We hope that you will be inspired to contribute to creating a new legacy for Australia.
THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation Board

Mary Lou has been a principal fundraiser for the purchase of the fossil beds, which are now owned by the State Government. The land on which they rest is soon to become a National Park. She takes great pride in being responsible for raising funds to refurbish the South Australian Museum’s Ediacara Gallery.
An Honour’s graduate of the University of Adelaide (History), Mary Lou was a secondary teacher, public examiner and curriculum writer. She is a volunteer teacher at the South Australian Museum where she was a contract employee in Anthropology. Mary Lou is committed to ensuring the Ediacara story reaches as many people as possible, and particularly school children.
For 19 years, Mary Lou was secretary of the Waterhouse Club. She has authored a book on South Australian history and has had a number of articles published. She lives in the Adelaide foothills with her husband and they share interests in bushwalking and sailing. Mary Lou’s other interests revolve around supporting young musicians and golf. (And she has six pet magpies all called Melba.)

Mary is widely published and regularly contributes to scientific journals.
The University of California Riverside’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences focuses on research and education about Earth dynamics and history, planets inside and outside or our solar system, and life in the universe.
Students and faculty investigate geological processes operating at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and research interests span many disciplines within the Earth and Planetary Sciences.
Mary is very involved in working to increase diversity in the Earth Sciences.

John has acted as a board adviser and as a director on a large number of private companies and also has considerable experience in the not-for-profit sector.
John is a former President of the Law Society of South Australia and chaired the Ethics Committee of the Law Society for more than seven years. He also chaired the Law Society’s Audit and Risk Management Committee and Investment Committee.
Apart from his experience as a lawyer, John is an experienced nature and wildlife photographer.

In 1999 he returned to the University of Adelaide as an Australian Research Council Senior Research Fellow and in 2001 was appointed Head of Science at the South Australian Museum.
Bob became Head of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide in 2003, and then Executive Dean. Bob is currently the Director of the university’s Environment Institute.
Bob has won many awards throughout his career, including the Clarke and Burbidge Medals for his research into the impact of long-term climate change on the evolution of Australian vegetation.

Belinda has provided taxation, accounting and general business services to clients ranging from individuals through to small and medium-sized businesses. During her time with Nexia Edwards Marshall she has also specialised in foreign tax issues and Research and Development Tax Incentive claims. On occasions, Belinda has also provided advice to not-for-profit organisations and assisted with their financial obligations.
Belinda currently works with Nexia Edwards Marshall on a consulting basis, where her focus has shifted to not-for-profit organisations.
Belinda holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Adelaide. She is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Jason has more than 20 years of experience in managing national parks state-wide programs and developing innovative strategies for protecting our special places and wildlife.
Jason is responsible for national parks legislation and planning, creating new parks, co-management of parks with Aboriginal people, wilderness protection, and marine parks and tourism policies.
Jason is leading the Flinders Ranges World Heritage nomination process, managing the government process to declare Nilpena a national park, and developing its visitor infrastructure and partnerships. He chairs the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park Co-management Board, is a member of the Ngaut Ngaut Conservation Park Co-management Board, and deputy member of the new Innes National Park Co-management Board.
Jason has published several articles and contributed and co-edited several books with conservation leaders in Australia, spoken at global forums such as the IUCN World Conservation Congress, and is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.
Jason is passionate about protecting our environment and partnering with people to find innovative solutions, with national parks as the most effective means of conserving species and special places. He lives in an old stone cottage in the Adelaide Hills with his family and assorted horses and Australian working dogs.

Angelique was born in Hungary and arrived in Australia with her mother and sister in 1957 as a refugee, having escaped Russian-occupied Hungary in during the Hungarian Revolution in October, 1956.
She began her working career as a flight attendant with Ansett Airlines. After leaving Ansett she held positions in multinational, national and state-based organisations prior to commencing Boileau Business Systems Pty Ltd in Victoria in 1983.
The company purchased the Rank Xerox Dealership SA in 1989, and over the years expanded and developed the business into a leading Information Communication Technology company trading as Boileau Business Technology. Boileau is an innovative company providing end-to-end technology business solutions to the South Australian business sector and is the provider of choice for the state’s Managed Services.
Angelique’s extensive professional achievements, including developing positive organisational cultures, customer and stakeholder engagement and increasing brand profile via marketing and media exposure, have been well recognised by the South Australian business community.
Angelique was named a South Australian Senior Citizen of the Year finalist in 2000 and received the City of West Torrens Civic Award for business and philanthropy.
Philanthropically, she has contributed to the ongoing economic development of South Australia. She has been St Vinnes CEO Sleepout participant for the past nine years and supports Hutt Street Centre and Service To Youth Council. Angelique is a strong supporter of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Festival of the Arts, Australian Dance Theatre and Zoos SA, particularly in animal conservation, including the Save the White Rhino program.
THE FOUNDATION
The Impact Council

He currently holds a number of positions including: Chief Scientist of Queensland, Board Director of Birdlife Australia, Member of The Wentworth Group, Researcher for Threatened Species Index and Head of The Possingham Lab, University of Queensland.
He recently completed a term as Chief Scientist at The Nature Conservancy.
In 2019 the University of Adelaide awarded Professor Possingham an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa) in acknowledgement of his internationally recognised pioneering research into endangered species, conservation biology and ecological planning. He is also a University of Adelaide Emeritus Professor.
Professor Possingham was elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2005. In 2013, he was the first Australian to be elected an Ecological Society of America Fellow, and in 2016 he was elected Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.

Richard is the world’s leading authority on trilobites, the ancient marine fossil, having contributed fundamentally to the understanding of their life habits, evolutionary relationships, and role as indicators of ancient world geography in more than 200 publications. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of this contribution.
Richard is widely known as a writer and broadcaster on natural history topics in the United Kingdom, have published a series of popular books celebrating an appreciation of the history of nature and its vital role in decision making for an enduring future.

Penelope has had a long career in conservation, working in the NGO, academic and government sectors. She was the principal lobbyist to the Federal Government in the early 1980s and served as the Vice President of the Australian Conservation Foundation for 17 years. She has served on the boards of many national and state statutory authorities as well as contributing to conservation though extensive public speaking, writing and lecturing.
Penelope’s core areas of expertise are biodiversity and protected area policy, World Heritage, conservation on private lands, and nature-based tourism. As Director of the Australian Committee for IUCN from 2011-2014, she revitalised the organisation, established secure finances, created a major symposium series and generated three books and other publications leading up to the 2014 IUCN World Protected Areas Congress in Sydney.
For her lifetime dedication to conservation, Penelope has been twice awarded Australian Honours, becoming a Member of the Order of Australia in 1994 and Officer of the Order of Australia in 2006.

Andy’s first flight into space was on a 10-day science mission aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1996. This was followed by a 20-week mission as a cosmonaut on the Mir space station in 1998.
His third flight came in 2001, on a mission to the International Space Station, and included a six-hour spacewalk outside of space station.
Andy’s fourth space flight, also to the space station, was on space shuttle Discovery in 2005. As a professional astronaut, he has logged more than 177 days in space.

IN HONOUR OF
Chris Meyer
1948-2020
Our website is dedicated to our founding visionary director.
Thank you and acknowledgements
The Flinders Ranges Ediacara Foundation acknowledges these people for images used in the website:
- Diego Garcia-Bellido
- James Fitzroy
- John Goldberg
- Jason Irving
- Mary Lou Simpson
- Mary Droser
- Lyndal Redman