At the Museum of Cornish Life, we have adopted various measures to decrease our carbon footprint and improve sustainability, including:
- Using display boards and pop-up banners with blank spaces so we can just stick up paper and then recycle them when the exhibition is over
- Recycling everything we can from batteries to soft plastics to paper to cardboard
- Reusing scrap material in our Krafty Kids sessions
- Printing on recyclable paper
- Only using china cups in our pop-up café
- Selling products from sustainability-focused businesses like One Blue Eye and Behaviour Change Cornwall, who create gifts from recycled plastics and recovered fishing nets
- Selling toys and cards made from eco-friendly materials
- Procuring as many of our supplies as possible from businesses in Helston and the surrounding area
- Implementing motion sensor lighting in low-traffic areas of the museum to reduce energy consumption and installing LED’s
- Installing energy-efficient infrared heaters at the reception area
- Encouraging staff and volunteers to consider the importance of sustainability – A team effort is far more effective than an individual one when it comes to sustainability. We are making efforts to continually remind the whole team to carry out good environmental practices, such as recycling, turning off unused lights, and avoiding unnecessary attachments to emails.
At the Museum of Cornish Life, we host the Helston Climate Action Group’s Climate Cafés, which provide a simple, hospitable, empathetic spaces where fears and uncertainties about our climate and ecological crisis can be safely expressed.
Some of our exhibitions and objects have sought to increase awareness about the effects of climate change and encourage us to take better care of our environment. For example, in 2023, Flying Free, which curated by sixth-grade students from Nansloe Academy and artist Melanie Young with assistance from wildlife experts, aimed to spark conversations about birds, their habitats, and the influence of climate change on their environment. Likewise, our wooden Gannet, carved by Peter Boex in response to the Torrey Canyon disaster of 1967, is a reminder of the environmental impact of industrialisation on the natural environment.
How might climate change affect the museum?
- Increased threat from insects and pests: Changes in climate patterns can affect the behaviour of insects and rodents, creating more favourable conditions for pests to thrive. For instance, pests like woodworm and webbing clothes moths, which are more active in warmer climates, present a notable danger to objects made from organic materials like clothing and wood within our collection. Read about climate-related threats posed by furniture beetle in Tehmina Goskar’s article on our dairy-related artefacts.
- Damage to museum infrastructure: Storms, floods, heavy rainfall, and extended periods of hot weather can have a significant impact on our building. For example, our Butter Market building is already prone to water damage, and may require more attention as severe weather events become common.
- Temperature-related damage to our collections: The rising temperatures and humidity levels present a considerable threat to our artefacts. The number of items made from organic materials (e.g., wood) requiring extra attention and possible removal from display is expected to increase.
In 2022, Cornwall Council commissioned a Climate Risk Assessment Report that outlined the impact of climate change on Cornwall. The report reveals that Cornwall is expected to face higher temperatures, increased droughts, stronger storms, more winter rainfall, rising sea levels, and an elevated risk of flooding. This would significantly affect operations at the Museum of Cornish Life. As more money is allocated to repairing climate-change related damage and preserving our collection, we will have fewer financial resources available for other areas of our operation, impacting our ability fund new exhibitions, community engagement programmes, and historical research.