Founder & CEO

Since the age of 21, Fiona has juggled a career in property with volunteering for wildlife and environmental organisations. This included five years at Colliers International as a commercial leasing agent and a marine campaigner for Australian Marine Conservation Organisation. During this time she completed two degrees in Economics at Sydney University and a Masters of Property Development at the University of Technology Sydney. She spent seven months volunteering in Africa, America and Sri Lanka in wildlife rehabilitation, volunteered in the London, Beijing, Amsterdam and Taronga zoos, and was head of the youth committee for the Foundation for the National Parks and Wildlife in Sydney. Fiona was a full-time volunteer for Sea Shepherd for nearly three years - she went on four dangerous campaigns including three anti-whaling campaigns in Antarctica and the Faroe Islands. She was media promoter for the Discovery Channel show, Whale Wars. While working in Sydney in 2014, Fiona saw a documentary - Will for the Woods - directed by a Melbournian filmmaker called Amy Browne. It is about a man searching for a final resting place and becoming involved with the burgeoning green burial movement. Fiona was so inspired by this film that she set about convincing the family to allow her to establish an eco-burial on their family farm. This began the long (nearly a decade) process of obtaining development consent to establish the first 100% natural burial site in NSW, and, also as a conservation burial one of the first of its kind in Australia. “It’s the perfect life-project for me. For the last nine years my property skills and environmental passions have been exercised, and soon I will be able to engage fully with a blend of people, the environment and wildlife. It’s such a simple idea that is full of so many positive elements,” she has said. In 2024, Fiona will begin a public speaking talking tour to educate people about end-of-life options. She strives to make conservation natural burials the number one choice for all Australians due to it being the most beneficial end-of-life choice for the planet and wildlife.

She is a board member of the Natural Death Advocacy Network (NDAN) www.ndan.com.au

Land Regeneration & Infrastructure Director

Ben Stainer is a Director of Walawaani Way. He is Fiona's husband and is a local Yuin whose ancestors have always lived on the NSW South Coast.

Ben is a member of the Aboriginal Advisory Board for the Eurobodalla Shire Council. Ben is the hands-on specialist in the team. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the construction industry with over thirty-six year’s experience. He managed his own business in Sydney that employed over eighty staff where delivering a very high level of service to customers was his priority and strength.

He is a talented builder, renovating the heritage-listed Bodalla Pub established in 1877 which is immensely enjoyed by the community and visitors to Bodalla. Ben will construct the ceremony building from large recycled timbers appropriate for the site.

“Keeping construction costs to a minimum is important so we can offer natural burials at an affordable price for everyone,” he said.

Fiona and Ben are passionate about natural burials changing the shape of the funeral industry, and as a significant way to improve Australia’s biodiversity. Ben will be working with his community to regenerate cleared farmland back to the native bushland it once was.

Advisory Board

Rebecca Lyons, mother of one, hails from the Blue Mountains in NSW. She started her working career in Sydney before making the move to Tasmania in late 2006. Over her career she has worked in various industries including finance, real estate and the law but in 2011, she found her path into the funeral industry and stayed there until mid-2017 working across the many roles offered in the contemporary funeral industry; including pre planning, administration, mortuary, funeral arranging and directing. Retraining as an End of Life Doula and becoming an independent Funeral Director she has worked in home based death care and family led funerals ever since.

Bec has also been actively working to advance the mission of You n’ Taboo which is the education and advocacy service she co-founded with her partner in 2016. In 2018 Bec was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake international research and report on changes and disruptions in the end of life space which saw her travel through 6 countries exploring alternatives to contemporary ceremony and body disposal. A link to her report can be found by clicking here, the full research is contained in her book – ‘A Heartfelt Undertaking’. Most recently Bec was selected as one of ten speakers to give a TEDx Presentation in Hobart, titled 'Three Steps into the Heart of Home Funeral'. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, photography, camping and travel but what makes her most contented is time with her family. The subjects of death and dying, natural burial and the DIY approach to death care are her passion and she loves being out in the community raising awareness and promoting good honest conversations, she is a dedicated advocate for positive change.

Bec is the President of the Natural Death Advocacy Network (NDAN) in Australia and also the Australian Home Funeral Alliance (AHFA).

Email: bec@yountaboo.com

www.solaceendoflife.com.au | www.yountaboo.com

Funeral Celebrant & Director

Lauren Newman is an integral part of the Walawaani Way Conservation Burial team. She approached Fiona very early in the developmental stages of the conservation burial after she read a local media story.

Lauren lives locally in Batemans Bay and has a wealth of experience in end-of-life. Lauren is a funeral director and celebrant for her business Tree of Life Funerals. Lauren is also an End-of-Life Death Doula where people can be assisted and supported in one of the most difficult times in their life. Doulas in this field are increasingly being recognised as an important part of the growing need in the community to ‘do death better.’

Lauren will be working with Fiona to carry out operations at Walawaani Way and also offering funeral services that families can choose to integrate into the burial proceedings. Lauren is aligned with Walawaani Way’s ethos of returning bodies in the most respectful and caring way and creating a beautiful and natural place for families and friends to visit.

Lauren can be contacted on 0493 276 554.