Visit our Nilpena Ediacara national park for a fantastic experience. We have proclaimed a 60,000-hectare national park containing one of the world’s most important fossil sites and the unique conservation of complex animal life. Our Nilpena Ediacara national park offers significant biodiversity value, aiming to protect the current native landscape and the area’s globally unique window into the absolute depths of time.
Flinders Ranges Ediacara Foundation was established in 2018 by the state government to protect the fossil found at Nilpena in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges. As such, we aim to preserve the region for future generations and continue unearthing the earliest remains of human life on Earth. We are recognised worldwide as the wealthiest and most diverse Ediacaran fossil site on Earth. Additionally, our site contains unique fossils of an early record of animal life, evidenced by onsite research undertaken many years ago.
Discover the remarkable ancient seafloor fossils that provided insight into the origins of early animal and human life. The fossils are over 500 million years old and are well preserved at Nilpena Ediacara National Park. The fossils of Nilpena are the world’s most outstanding record of the advent and evolution of early animal life on our planet. Since their discovery in 1946, they have been researched by leading scientific organisations for several years. Even with over 20 years of research and the excavation of 40 fossiliferous beds, Ediacaran fossils remain the most unique fossils explaining the existence of early life.
We understand the immense value of these fossils and will do whatever it takes to protect them. Nilpena Ediacara National Park has been included on the National Heritage List due to its international significance as a fossil research site. The park holds an extraordinary diversity of organisms in its fossil beds. For this reason, it is a crucial area for palaeontologists worldwide.
Have you ever wondered if life exists elsewhere? Research indicates that the Earth went from a rock hurtling through space to today’s lush green planet. This is also where life originated and evolved. The Earth transformed over half a billion years ago from a microbial world to one full of animals and other diverse life. At Nilpena Ediacara National Park, we have a record of this transition and the extraordinary unfolding of animal life on Earth. They are preserved uniquely in sandstone beds, serving as “snapshots” of the ancient seafloor where animals first evolved.
We know that only some people who visit the new Nilpena Ediacara National Park can see these fossils due to the hard-to-navigate paths and terrain. However, the historic Blacksmith’s Shop at Nilpena has been extensively restored and repurposed to serve as a brilliantly immersive and interpretive experience. In this building, you will be inspired to investigate a unique and mysterious part of our planet’s history and to learn more about the natural world.
SUPPORT US
SUPPORT US
Your support and contribution will be critical in protecting this globally significant site in perpetuity – not just for South Australia or Australia but for everyone. By supporting the Flinders Ranges Ediacara Foundation, you’ll be helping to create an everlasting legacy, preserving one of the most significant pieces of the history of life on earth for now and for future generations.
Since its launch in March 2019, the Foundation has raised significant funds to allow for the State Government purchase of the land holding the fossil beds, to assist with the protection of the fossils and to support the transformation of the historic Blacksmith’s Shop into an immersive Ediacaran interpretive centre.
The next critical step is to work closely with the South Australian State Government to ensure the effective preservation and interpretation of the site and the fossils it contains. To support this ongoing vision for the future of the Nilpena site, we are seeking funding through personal donations, bequests and corporate contributions.
