Barbara Rosemary Hardy AO (née Begg, born 31 March 1927) is an Australian environmentalist and scientist.

[4][5] 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.

Hardy volunteered at the Conservation Council of South Australia, starting in 1972, and then enrolled in a degree in earth sciences at Flinders University, in 1972.

She has worked for the Australian Heritage Commission, Landcare, the National Parks Foundation and the Investigator Science and Technology Centre.

[18][19] 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.