Our Team Behind Green Burial in Australia

Leading the way

Kevin Hartley is the Founder, Project Director and acting CEO of Earth Funerals Project. He has more than 20 years of experience in the funeral and cemetery industries, giving him a broad and deep understanding of the sector.

Working with the late Hon. Dr Bob Such (Independent MP for Fisher) and a community group (Natural Earth Burial Society), he contributed to the lobby for legislative changes to establish natural burial grounds. Later, in 2016, he played an advisory role in establishing the first private natural burial ground at the Aldinga Arts-EcoVillage in South Australia.

Kevin has won awards for his innovative bio-coffin designs and is considered an authority on natural burials.

Board members

Dr Vanda Rounsefell

Adelaide

Vanda has a background in wholistic & environmental general medical practice. In 2000, she expanded her interest from restoring individual health to that of larger scales - housing, landscapes, cities and countries. This led to private involvement and research into ecovillages and sustainable living, sustainable death practices and to her leading the establishment at Aldinga Arts-EcoVillage of the first SA restoration burial ground under new SA legislation. She wrote a PhD entitled “From EgoCity to EcoCity : an ecological, complex systems approach to humans and their settlements”. She trained in and served on the Board of The Natural Step, a powerful sustainability model, and set up Ecoweb Human Ecology Services, an eco-counselling consultancy.

Kieran Worthington

Kieran is a founding Board member of Sustainable Funerals Group Ltd (formally Bereavement Assistance Ltd), a registered charity that has been providing dignified funerals for Victorian families experiencing financial hardship for more than 25 years.

Kieran brings a wealth of practical experience from both within and outside the funeral industry, and a passion to improve the lives of others. He is currently a Director and CEO of the Sustainable Funerals Group, as well as a Board member of the Earth Funerals charities.