As COP26 gets underway in Glasgow this week, we are delighted to announce that we’ve received funding from Museums Galleries Scotland to run a project to highlight and address the climate emergency at the Museum of Edinburgh.
Think local, act global is focused on bringing new life to the Museum of Edinburgh’s historic courtyard and will aim to improve the biodiversity and carbon capture potential of the soil in the space. We’ll be working with the Applied Negative Emissions Centre (ANEC), a carbon removal consultancy, to add a mixture of plants and herbs, and to add biochar to the soil to improve its fertility and ability to store carbon. A carbon capture education bench will be created using reclaimed materials and will include a bug hotel and planters, in addition to a climate change-themed mural that will be co-designed and painted by local school children.
We will also work with school groups to create an exhibition focused on climate change which will include objects from the museums’ collections and artworks created by school children from across Edinburgh. The exhibition will display items related to environmental themes such as plastics, upcycled items, protest banners and food packaging.
Museums & Galleries Edinburgh is committed to becoming a sustainable museum service. Through this project we aim to engage with community groups and visitors and empower them to respond to the climate emergency.
