The Nova Scotia Museum recognizes that it has an important role to play in addressing the climate crisis and modelling environmental stewardship. Climate change is one of the most pressing global issues of our time. Impacts are being felt across our province and around the world. Our well-being and our social and economic systems are linked to, and dependent on, the health of our environment.
As the provincial museum, we have a responsibility to help preserve, protect and promote our natural and cultural heritage; this includes the planet on which we live. We must act now.
Our actions include:
- raising awareness of the impacts of climate change and the importance of environmental sustainability (globally and locally) through museum collections, exhibitions, programming, and events, for example, the Age of the Mastodon exhibit currently on display at the Museum of Industry.
- offering interactive educational resources such as Schoolyard Bioblitz to foster an understanding and appreciation of nature and science.
- partnering in World Oceans Day to promote greater awareness of our diverse relationships with the ocean and to better understand the impacts of climate change, rising sea levels, ocean pollution and acidification.
- monitoring coastal erosion and its impact on important cultural resources at risk through collaborative projects such as field work at the Fort Saint Louis archaeological site in partnership with the Cape Sable Historical Society, guided and supported by an adaptation strategy for the provincial archaeology sector.
- researching climate change impacts and protecting biodiversity through the work of our curatorial staff, for example, research on endangered lichen species. (Amateur lichenologists can check out our Infosheet - Lichens in Nova Scotia: A ‘how-to’ guide for beginner naturalists PDF 737 KB).
- contributing to the Watercolour World image database project by providing watercolour images of Nova Scotia landscapes that aid in documenting changing landscapes due to climate change and coastal erosion.
- embracing and supporting actions in the provincial Climate Change Plan.