I attended the National Council on Public History annual meeting in Montréal at the end of March and wanted to share what I learned about environmental sustainability at museums in that city. I’m not saying museums in the US aren’t doing this, but I haven’t seen anything quite like this in my travels. Or, if I have, it wasn’t interpreted (the jargon we use in my field to me “communicate”). Sometimes it makes sense to show your work.

Exhibit A (pun may be intended):

The MEM, or Centre des mémoires montréalaises, features a community exhibition series (called kiosques) that is displayed on sets of modular panels that can be reused for each exhibition. The visuals and text are printed on recycled cardboard and can we swapped out when the exhibit changes. The wood you see surrounding the screen is from trees that died due to emerald ash borer damage :-( . The units have a lifespan of about ten years, AND the metal frames can be recycled after that time. I asked staff if there was an official museum policy or city policy (it’s a city-owned museum) about environmental sustainability that dictated the use of materials in this way. The answer was that it was “not really a policy, [but] a tendency.”

I other words, they do it because then can and want to.

Exhibit B:

At the McCord Stewart Museum, I noticed this label, titled “ECO-DESIGN APPROACH,” at the end of an exhibition.

Transcription:

“Mindful of environmental issues and convinced that museums have a role to play in the transition to a more sustainable future, the McCord Steward Museum has set itself the goal of minimizing the amount of waster produced by its exhibitions. Before beginning production of Costume Balls: Dressing up History exhibition, the Museum conducted a review to develop strategies that were implemented to reduce its environmental impact. Almost the entire exhibition was designed using existing materials from the Museum’s inventory of furnishings: picture rails, display cases, benches, mannequins, and exhibition supports. These reusable, modular structures will be added to the Museum’s inventory for use in future exhibitions, as will the the two light boxes and several decorative elements built specifically for the project.

Three quarters of the multimedia equipment used in the exhibition (screens, projectors, headphones, sound monitors, and computers) came from the Museum’s supply of materials. New purchases, which included six televisions and three projectors, will be added to the inventory and used again.

Exhibition labels were printed directly onto acid-free cardboard recycled from previous museum projects. Exhibition texts were printed onto new self-adhesive vinyl and then stuck onto pieces of scrap wood or directly to the wall. Photographic reproductions were printed on paper, self-adhesive vinyl or banners.”

I don’t know if this interest in environmental sustainability is more formalized at the McCord (I didn’t have a chance to ask). Either way, I found both the sustainable kiosques and the explanation of the reuse of materials in the costume exhibition really affirming.

Why can’t we just do it?

On this Earth Day, I encourage you to be more environmentally sustainable in all that you do—at home, at work, and in your community. Because you can.

Additional Notes.

I just finished native plant hero Doug Tallamy’s new book What Can I do to Help?: Saving Nature with Your Yard. (It looks like there is a discount code on the publisher’s website right now!) I enjoyed the Q&A format, and he cleared up a few questions I know I had. One of my favorite sentences from the book: “Everybody requires healthy ecosystems regardless of their politics” (pg. 32). If you’re just getting into native plants, I suggest starting with his book Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard (2019).

Views my own