Environmental Sustainability at Historic Sites and Museums

About this book

Growing public interest in environmental sustainability is a gift to historic sites and museums. It is an invitation to use our knowledge, collections, and sites to discuss how human practices and interactions with the environment in past were – and were not – environmentally sustainable. Being green still has a great deal to do with using less energy, buying less stuff, and recycling more, but now sustainability is just as important in strategic planning, interpretation and public engagement. Environmental Sustainability at Historic Sites and Museums details how to go green at every level of your organization

Why is this important? Because it is no longer a choice; environmental awareness as an amenity has become climate awareness as a necessity. Seas and storms threaten historic coastal communities. Flooding increasingly threatens sites near rivers. What structural precautions, collections care changes, and insurance approaches should you take for the new normal? What self-sufficiencies must you develop? What role do you have in community responses?

Let environmental sustainability change the way you operate, engage the community and fulfil your mission. Let this book introduce you to the topic if you're new to it; or take you to the next level of performance if you've been doing this awhile. From one of the leading experts in the sustainability practices in museums, this book explains how engaging in sustainable practices will benefit not only the planet but also the people you serve, your programs and even your profits. To demonstrate this, Sutton provides case studies from museums at the forefront of the green movement.

Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1. Value: How Environmental Sustainability Strengthens Historic Sites and Museums
Chapter 2. Starting to go Green: Making Choices; Facilitating Change
Chapter 3. Energy Choices
Chapter 4. Environmental Sustainability in Collections Care
Chapter 5. Rediscovering Connections: Buildings, Land & Water, Plants & Agriculture, and Animals
Chapter 6. Sharing These Connections: Historic Interpretation and Community Engagement
Chapter 7. Materials: What Comes; What Goes; What Gets Transformed
Chapter 8. Sustainability Policies and Planning
Chapter 9. Creating Our Future
Conclusion: Sustainable Stewardship: What Business-as-Usual Should Look Like
About the Author

Customer Reviews

Biography

Sarah Sutton is the author of Is Your Museum Grant-Ready? and coauthor with Elizabeth Wylie of both editions of The Green Museum: A Primer for Environmental Practice. She is a consultant in environmentally-sustainable practices in museums, currently advising the Detroit Zoo on its green strategic plan and grant funding for increased green practice. Among other green work she has worked with the Minnesota Historical Society and Dumbarton house on NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage grant applications and projects, conducted a program and operations audit for Connecticut Landmarks, and helped the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum launch its green team. She regularly presents on sustainable practices for museum conferences and other nonprofit gatherings.