Sharing Stories, Sharing collections: Valuing Biodiversity in Wales
27 July 2018
Poppy Nicol, Cardiff University
A collaboration between the Sustainable Places Research Institute (PLACE), Cardiff University (CU) and Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum of Wales (AC-NMW), this placement addresses the Valuing Nature Programme second research goal: improving understanding of the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services in human health and well-being. The placement investigates how the Economic Botany Collection at National Museum Cardiff can add value to public understanding of biodiversity and contribute to the AC-NMW well-being duty (Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (WBFGA), 2015.
During this placement Poppy Nicol investigated how the Economic Botany Collection has the potential to value to public understanding of biodiversity and contribute to the Museum’s well-being duty (WBFGA 2015), through public consultation with members of the public in South Wales (including young people, gardeners, ecologists, teachers, artists, craftspeople and chefs). Participants were introduced to the Collection and invited to contribute to the Collections Strategy and an emerging framework of value. Poppy also discussed the Collections Strategy with external stakeholders (including representatives from higher education, public health, community growing, industry and a number of freelance artists).
Drawing upon the findings of the consultations, the placement report highlights a number of ways in which the AC-NMW EBC can be developed (in terms of acquisition, display and associated activities) to improve the role of the Collection in supporting valuing and understanding of biodiversity and well-being.
Along with further integrating the Well Being Future Generations Act Goals into the Collections Strategy, a critical next step for the Collection is digitisation of the EBC and development of a Digital Strategy. There is further opportunity for development of an intergenerational learning programme; exploration of research-led Curation opportunities and collaboration with other public institutions with Economic Botany Collections and Biocultural Collections (including museums botanic gardens and universities).
Current collaboration with the Mobile Museum Project, an AHRC collaboration between Royal Holloway, University of London; Royal Botanic Garden, Kew and other partners is also offering interesting insight into some of the accessed material in the AC-NMW Collection. In May, Heather Pardoe (Principal Curator, Botany) and Poppy were invited to attend The Mobile Museum: Economic Botany in circulation workshop at Kew. This workshop highlighted the benefit of investigating the biographies of objects through mapping the distributions and flows of both accessed and deaccessed material.
Mark Nesbitt (Kew) and Luciana Martins (Birkbeck) presented on the innovative visual methodological approaches of their work with the Tucano peoples of the northwest Amazonian region of Brazil and Colombia as they explored connections with the nineteenth century Collector Richard Spruce and material held within the Kew Collection through object biographies and interviews facilitated between the Tucano peoples. Caroline Cornish (Royal Holloway/Kew) and Traude Gavin (independent) provided an interesting insight into the complexities of object biographies as they are cut up and circulated as sections or parts through their talk on Iban textiles and networks of exchange. Participation in this network is leading to further investigation of some of the forgotten stories held within the AC-NMW Collection.
We are looking forward to welcoming the 2018 Valuing Nature Conference at the National Museum Cardiff 13-14 November. To find out more and register visit the conference website.
- The National Food Strategy: rural communities, urban food and good food jobs. What can be done? A Note
- Greening the planet: we can’t just plant trees, we have to restore forests
- Paging Dr Care
- Should we act on climate change? perspectives from global south
- Good work for good food – Call for papers for RGS-IBG Conference 2021
- The Agriculture Bill (Wales) White Paper and the Quest for ‘Sustainable Land Management’: A note on some of the key issues for debate. on
- Outbreaks, break-outs and break-times: Creating caring online workshops on
- Working together for Co-operative and Just Food Systems on
- Regrow Borneo and leadership in the face of the climate crisis on
- Regrow Borneo and leadership in the face of the climate crisis on
- June 2021
- May 2021
- March 2021
- January 2021
- October 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- November 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- November 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- February 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015