Barbara Rosemary Hardy (born 1927) is an Australian environmentalist and scientist. She is the patron of the Barbara Hardy institute, affiliated with the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

. The Barbara Hardy Institute researches low carbon living and sustainable energy. Her research interests include renewable energy, biodiversity conservation and ecologically sustainable development.

Biography

Hardy was born Barbara Begg in 1927 in Largs Bay, South Australia. She completed her secondary education at Woodlands Girls' school by the age of 16 and enrolled in a science degree at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. She later studied at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

. Hardy has been volunteering in the environmental field since the 1970s. Hardy volunteered at the

Conservation Council of South Australia The Conservation Council of South Australia, also known as Conservation SA and Conservation Council SA, is an environmental organisation serving as a peak body, representing over 50 member groups, representing over 90,000 individual members, in t ...

, starting in 1972, and then enrolled in a degree in earth sciences at Flinders University, in 1972. Hardy worked with the Minister for the Environment,

David Wotton David Charles Wotton AM (born 14 August 1942) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1975 and 2002, representing the electorates of Murray and Heysen. Aside from the ...

, in the 1970s and 1980s. She has worked for the

Australian Heritage Commission The Australian Heritage Commission (AHC), was the Australian federal government authority established in 1975 by the ''Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975'' as the first body to manage natural and cultural heritage in Australia until its de ...

, Landcare, the National Parks Foundation and the Investigator Science and Technology Centre. Hardy was a co-founder in 1981 and a patron of

Nature Foundation Nature Foundation, formerly The National Parks Foundation and Nature Foundation SA Inc. (NFSA), is the largest non-government nature conservation organisation based in South Australia. It was founded in October 1981, and is supported by the Gove ...

in South Australia. One of their properties,

Hiltaba Nature Reserve Hiltaba Nature Reserve is located in the north of the Eyre Peninsula on the western edge of the Gawler Ranges, South Australia. It is situated on a former pastoral lease known as Hiltaba, or Hiltaba Station, that had operated as a sheep statio ...

, has a walking trail named after her. She is also a patron of Friends of Parks Inc. Her focus is ecologically sustainable development,

renewable energy production Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

, and biodiversity. At the University of South Australia, Hardy was a founding board member of the Sustainable Systems and Technology. She then became a patron of the Barbara Hardy Institute, at the University of South Australia. She is a proponent of

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

, where scientific projects have participation from community members, with collaboration between members of the public and scientists. She believes that when members of the community have their voices heard, this can influence their behaviour and attitudes. Hardy is a fellow of the

Australian Institute of Energy Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, and was one of SA’s top 50 most influential Environmentalists. There has also been a Barbara Hardy wine label competition, for a designing a label for bottles of shiraz. She has won numerous prizes from 1987 to 2014, including multiple honorary degrees, over a span of five decades, and was one of Australia's early leaders in conservation.

Awards

* 2015 - Australian Institute of Energy, SA Branch Hall of Fame Award * 2014 - SA State Recipient, Senior Australian of the year * 2011 –

Adelaide Festival of Ideas The Adelaide Festival of Ideas (AFOI) is a festival held in Adelaide, South Australia since 1999, usually biennially. It aims to foster the public promulgation, discussion and critique of culturally and socially relevant ideas from around the wo ...

was dedicated to Hardy * 2011 – State Library of SA contained a display on Hardy's work *2010 – Honorary degree from the University of Adelaide * 1993 – Honorary degree from Flinders University * 1992 – Institution of Engineers Medal * 1994 – Eureka award for the advancement of Science * 1996 – SA Senior Australian of the year * 1987 – Officer of the Order of Australia for "service to conservation and the community"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Barbara 1927 births Living people Australian women scientists Australian women environmentalists Women activists Officers of the Order of Australia People from South Australia University of Adelaide alumni Flinders University alumni