Birmingham Museums Trust backs pioneering Natural History Museum project
Birmingham Museums Trust has signed up to become a key partner in a pioneering project with the Natural History Museum to help safeguard nature.
The Birmingham trust is one of eight museums across the UK partnering in a programme to transform their sites, boost biodiversity, widen access to nature and engage local communities in nature recovery.
Museums for Nature, launched this week by the Natural History Museum (NHM), aims to support biodiversity and help address nature loss in communities nationwide.
Following the opening of its new gardens in 2024, in the programme’s first year the NHM is partnering with eight museums from Real World Science, a network of museums across the UK that use their national history collections in collaboratively developed national programmes to engage a range of public audiences with natural science, with plans to then expand to museums nationwide.
Museums for Nature will support museums to map existing habitats and identify interventions to enhance biodiversity across their gardens, while engaging communities to play an active role through community science and hands-on action.
From creating pollinator-friendly habitats to digging ponds and developing climate-resilient planting schemes, participating museums will help strengthen biodiversity in towns and cities across the UK.
Chris Keady, head of learning and research at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “Birmingham Museums Trust is delighted to be among the first partners in the NHM’s Museums for Nature project.
“As museums, we have a vital role to play in helping people connect with the natural world through learning, research and shared experiences.
“The trust already supports biodiversity through its extensive 250,000-specimen natural science collection, which acts as a vital, long-term resource for monitoring environmental changes.
“This initiative offers an exciting opportunity to transform our spaces in ways that support biodiversity and encourage communities to engage with nature.”
Tom Bevan, head of national programmes at the Natural History Museum, said: “Building on the success of transforming our own gardens in London, Museums for Nature will connect millions of people with nature at scale, creating a network of nature-rich spaces across museum sites throughout the UK.
“As one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, the UK must act. By working with museums to transform their spaces for nature, we can empower people to take action, deepen their connection with the natural world, and become advocates for the planet.”
Museums for Nature is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will partner with museums across the UK to transform their sites, boost biodiversity, widen access to nature and engage local communities in nature recovery.
Other museums involved in the first year of the programme are The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry; Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne; Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales; Touchstones, Rochdale; Wollaton Hall, Nottingham; National Museums NI and the Natural History Museum, Tring.
