Museums:  Engage your community by 

promoting the "Greener Good"

This blog entry was inspired by the January/February 2008 Museum article entitled “The Greener Good:  The Enviro-Active Museum” by Elizabeth Wylie and Sarah S. Brophy. 

Another way museums, zoos, aquariums, and historic sites can engage with their communities is by promoting environmentally sustainable practices.  Museums are discovering that “sustainability is an issue that connects their missions to local, regional, and global communities in new ways” (p. 42).  Museums are seen as trusted authorities in their communities and also have a responsibility to educate the public.  Thus, it seems a natural fit for museums to become role models in the green movement. 

Barbra Batshalom of the Green Roundtable (an nonprofit organization which promotes and supports sustainable buildings and development) notes that, “Museum staff and trustees have increased awareness around the responsibilities of being stewards and understand the need to integrate mission activities into the natural, social and built systems of the whole community” (p. 42).  Likewise, Ellen Censky, director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, asks, “If we cannot lead by example, then why should people listen to what we are saying?” (p. 44). 

It is important to note, however, that in order to lead by example, museums must connect with the whole community, not just with the self-selecting audience who chooses to visit the museum.  In other words, this means “reaching not just the audience attending lectures, visiting exhibits and participating in town meetings, but the audience that lives or works in the neighborhood, reads the newspaper, buys light bulbs, feeds their families, drives a car and generates trash” (p. 42). 

Nevertheless, the risks and hard work associate with reaching out to the entire community and adopting eco-conscious initiatives do not go without rewards to the institution.  Several museums have proven that supporting sustainability can be mutually beneficial to both communities and museums.  These benefits include immediate and long term positive effects like:  increased attendance, financial savings, and knowing you’ve helped your community make smarter, better choices.   

So what are some ways for museums to promote sustainability in their communities?  What ideas have been tried and have succeeded?  Museums can look to others like them in the field and find a plethora of prosperous programs and ideas that both promote environmentally sustainable practices and and engage the entire community.  Here is a sampling:

• Recycling Programs:  An easy way to reach out to the public and promote environmentally green habits is to start a program for people to deposit paper, plastics, batteries, and electronics for recycling.  For example, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in L.A. asks students to bring in recyclables in lieu of admission fees.  Places like Cleveland’s MetroParks Zoo and the Discovery Museum in Acton, MA partnered with local recycling businesses to create an onsite recycling center.  

• Farmers’ Markets and Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Programs:  Partnering with a CSA or hosting a farmers’ market or stand is a great way for museums to draw connections between their mission and sustainable agriculture.  These types of programs “aim to increase quality f of food and care given land, plants and animals while reducing potential food losses and financial risks for producers” (p. 43).  Additionally, farm stands and markets can produce additional revenue and bring in new audiences when museums host dinners and festivals featuring local, organic produce.  Institutions currently reaping these delicious rewards include the Woodlawn in Alexandria, VA and the Massachusetts Audubon Society.  

• Promote Sustainability in your Café or Food Court:  Most visitors to museums stop by the café or food court at some point during their visit.  Consequently, your food court can be a powerful and effective instrument through which you can encourage guests to make environmentally friendly choices.  For instance, the Kids Café at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum “extends its green initiative to visitor’s plates with ecologically conscious products and practices such as:  low-volume packaging, biodegradable and recycled napkins and tableware, biodegradable and low-phosphate cleaning supplies, and a sorting and recycling program for waste” (p. 46).  The museum also encourages visitors to dine green by using local and seasonal produce.   

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED):   Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods.  Several museums and historic sites are serving as leaders in environmental stewardship in both new construction and the retro-fitting of older, existing buildings on their campuses.  Examples include the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in NY, and the Lincoln Cottage in Washington, D.C.  

• Offer Sustainability Interpretation:  Reach out to your community by offering classes, programs, lectures, and demonstrations that teach sustainability and environmentally friendly habits.  Partnering with green non-profits and special interest groups can allow for a whole range of activities.  The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, MD has created programs that teach local homeowners to create living shorelines instead of seawalls.  They also offer programs that give lectures via kayak and have partnered with the Adkins Arboretum to plan stormwater-containing rain gardens to reduce runoff.  Finally, CBMM partnered with over eighty environmental organizations to put on a “Bay Day” festival which encouraged locals to help save the bay with at-home and volunteer opportunities. 

All of these methods give museums ways to connect their mission to action in their communities.  Another piece of advice garnered from practitioners in the field:  In addition to simply taking sustainable action, museums must make sure they are telling people what they are doing and even more importantly why they are doing it.  This can be done via signage, websites, interpretation, and program partnerships. 

Everyone can embrace sustainability and community action.  In this day and age, no one can afford to overlook the deep connection between global environmental health and institutional health; the future of our museums and our planet depend on it! 

Works Cited:

Wylie, E., and Brophy, S.S. 2008.  The greener good:  The enviro-active museum.  Museum, 87 (1):  40-47.
Image credit:  http://bgnentrepreneur.net/wp-content/uploads//2010/10/sustainability.jpg

~ Posted by LF