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Cornwall Museums Partnership

Environmentally Responsible Award 2019

In March, Cornwall Museums Partnership and SW Museum Development hosted the annual Cornwall Heritage Awards to celebrate and champion the amazing work that’s taking place across museums in Cornwall.

This week we are shining a light on a new category for the 2019 awards. The Environmentally Responsible Award highlights projects or initiatives that have made an organization more sustainable or environmentally responsible.

We would like to thank Tevi Cornwall for sponsoring this award.

Environmentally Responsible Award – Winner (Larger Organisation)
National Trust Godolphin: Energy reduction at Godolphin Count House

 

The National Trust facilities team has taken on a series of measures to reduce the energy consumption of Godolphin Count House. The building’s lighting has been switched to LED bulbs and motion sensor light switches installed in the bathrooms. The main achievement in reducing energy consumption was replacing the two oil boilers, which together used over 8000 litres of oil a year, with one biomass pellet boiler, which now supplies hot water and heating to the whole building. This has all contributed to Godolphin House reducing its energy consumption from 54,806 KWh to under 11 KWh per year, saving money and allowing the National Trust to invest more into their conservation work.

 

Environmentally Responsible Award – Winner (Smaller Organisation)
Newquay Heritage Archive and Museum: Plastics in the Ocean

 

A photograph of Newquay Heritage Archive and Museum, winners of the Environmentally Responsible Award.

Newquay Heritage Archive and Museum has worked with various local partners to promote greater awareness of plastic waste in the town, and the danger of plastics in the oceans. The museum’s partnership with Fistral Beach Cleaning Group provided material for the mobile Vintage Beach Rubbish display, which portrays the striking messages about the longevity of plastics and other packaging along the beaches. Items shown in the display include crisp packets that are over 30 years old! The displays have reached over 5000 people, encouraging many people to reduce their own plastic consumption.

 

Environmentally Responsible Award – Highly Commended (Larger Organisations)

 

A photograph of Museum of Cornish LIfe, Helston and Telegraph Museum Porthcurno highly commended in the Environmentally Responsible Award.

 

Telegraph Museum Porthcurno: Planet PK

 

The Telegraph Museum Porthcurno is embedding ‘global citizen’ ideals into the core values of the organization. Under the initiative PlanetPK the museum is working on a number of projects with the National Trust and Cornwall New Energy. To show that everyone within the organisation is committed to improving their environmental responsibility, the museum director is training as a Marine Mammal Medic and their gardener Paddy has offered his expertise in installing and managing several bee hives, which staff members have volunteered to maintain.

 

Museum of Cornish Life, Helston: Evergreen Maintenance

 

Over the summer months and into winter 2018, two dedicated volunteers from the Museum of Cornish Life, Helston carried out visual inspections of the museum’s 50 plus windows. They found that some of the windows were in a bad state and embarked on repairing, sealing, and painting all the doors and windows at the museum. Their work has extended the life of the windows saving them from landfill, as well as improving the look of the museum building.

 

 

Environmentally Responsible Award – Highly Commended (Smaller Organisations)

 

A photograph of staff from The Castle, Bude and The Old Guildhall Museum and Gaol, Looe.

 

Old Guildhall Museum and Gaol, Looe

 

A change in volunteers at the Old Guildhall Museum and Gaol, Looe created the desire for the museum to be more integrated into the Looe community, and take a more environmentally responsible position. The museum decided to write an Environmental Policy to guide their decision making, they have started their long-term commitment by installing LED lighting, increasing recycling, and finding environmentally friendly suppliers. UV film has also been installed in some of the windows reducing the need for heating and allowing some of the older paintings and artefacts to be on show again in the museum.

 

 

The Castle Heritage Centre, Bude: Making Café Limelight More Environmentally Sustainable

 

The Limelight Café at The Castle Heritage Centre has introduced multiple initiatives to support the Greener Bude campaign, to make Bude the greenest town in the UK. The café has eradicated single-use plastics, offers free refills of tap water, a discount if visitors are using their own reusable takeaway cup, and is focusing on finding more local food suppliers to cut down on food miles.

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