Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It will aim to provoke debate among visitors to the Natural History Museum and online audiences about why and how the relationship between humans and the natural world needs to change.
A free display of over 40 Natural History Museum specimens in the site’s Jerwood gallery, deep-dive content accessible in the digital hub and a series of live events throughout 2021 will form the basis of the environmental programming.
Highlights of the Our Broken Planet schedule include:
Animals in the Anthropocene
Award-winning photographer and author Jo-Anne McArthur encourages us to interrogate what value we attribute to animals, and how we might rethink our relationship with them through a more considered, critical lens
Bye Bye Plastic
18-year-old Indonesian/Dutch activist and founder of Bye Bye Plastic, Melati Wijsen, is joined by museum expert Dr Alex Bond and globally renowned photographer Mandy Barker to discuss the pervasive impacts of plastic pollution on oceans and natural environments across the world, and what we can do about it
“We are not only facing a global pandemic but a planetary emergency,” says Dr Gurr. “This is the time to recognise both the results of our collective impact on the planet and the opportunities we have to create solutions for nature – from nature. Our mission is to create advocates for the planet and this programme will do just that.”
The new season will, the former Amazon UK chief adds, “show how humans have become the most influential species on the planet; how our actions can make a difference and how ground-breaking scientific research can offer hope for a better future”.
Elements of the offer have been developed via a partnership with the World Economic Forum. Nico Daswani, the organisation’s head of arts & culture, describes the Museum’s plans as a “wonderful example of how a science-based, cultural institution can spur a critically-important dialogue with a broad and diverse audience”.
The Our Broken Planet season is not the only thing Natural History Museum is doing to play its part in mitigating the climate crisis. At the beginning of 2020 it unveiled an 11-year environmental strategy and declared a planetary emergency. On a more micro level, it was announced in April that the institution was embarking on a three-year initiative to its five-acre gardens as a ‘biodiversity hub’ to engage the nation with nature.