Voxpop
What are you doing to make travel and transport more sustainable?
The Horniman Museum and Gardens recently declared an ecological and climate emergency, pledging to place carbon reduction and environmental issues at the heart of its work. Other institutions that have signed up to Culture Declares Emergency include the Museums Association, Tate and the Whitaker Museum.
Teresa Anderson director, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, University of Manchester
“Urban museums find it challenging to encourage people to use public transport or to cycle when visiting, so it’s even more difficult when there isn’t any public transport. We have several initiatives – besides petitioning the rural transport authorities for a bus link. There is a lot of car sharing between staff, and we have a hybrid plug-in vehicle for longer journeys. With great messaging apps and systems available, we often hold meetings via technology from our own offices. We also raise awareness of the climate emergency via our social media posts, talks that we give and our Bluedot Festival.”
Kirsten Walker director, collections care and estates, Horniman Museum & Gardens
“At the Horniman Museum & Gardens we promote a ride-to-work scheme to staff and provide plenty of covered cycle storage. We ask our visitors to arrive on foot or by public transport rather than by car, and we use electric vehicles around our site. We are also developing a green travel plan that will include encouraging staff not to fly for business unless it is essential, to use public transport wherever possible, and reduce the number of petrol and diesel vehicles we own and replace them with shared or electric-powered vehicles.”
Charlotte Dew professional development manager, Touring Exhibitions Group
Teresa Anderson director, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, University of Manchester
“Urban museums find it challenging to encourage people to use public transport or to cycle when visiting, so it’s even more difficult when there isn’t any public transport. We have several initiatives – besides petitioning the rural transport authorities for a bus link. There is a lot of car sharing between staff, and we have a hybrid plug-in vehicle for longer journeys. With great messaging apps and systems available, we often hold meetings via technology from our own offices. We also raise awareness of the climate emergency via our social media posts, talks that we give and our Bluedot Festival.”
Kirsten Walker director, collections care and estates, Horniman Museum & Gardens
“At the Horniman Museum & Gardens we promote a ride-to-work scheme to staff and provide plenty of covered cycle storage. We ask our visitors to arrive on foot or by public transport rather than by car, and we use electric vehicles around our site. We are also developing a green travel plan that will include encouraging staff not to fly for business unless it is essential, to use public transport wherever possible, and reduce the number of petrol and diesel vehicles we own and replace them with shared or electric-powered vehicles.”
Charlotte Dew professional development manager, Touring Exhibitions Group
“The sustainable credentials of a project should not be based on considering any element (for example, transport) in isolation. A holistic assessment shows that touring exhibitions can have a lighter impact than a series of one-venue shows. But greater collaboration on object/exhibition movement is essential. Collaboration maximises vehicle loads and enables courier-sharing, cutting the number of journeys. This requires more advanced planning and collaborative institutional strategies. We should also lobby transporters to support sharing and use greener vehicles.”