Museum Development England, in partnership with Manchester Museum and The Carbon Literacy Project, has developed a new online Carbon Literacy Toolkit that will be free to access by all museums across England.

The Toolkit and Course are part of the Roots and Branches project, supported with public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Each regional Museum Development team will be delivering online Carbon Literacy Course sessions over the next 18 months.

The Carbon Literacy Course will give you a strategic understanding of what climate change is, the scale of its effects, and how museums fit into the global, national and local picture to address climate change. You will become Carbon Literate by making an individual pledge, and an organisational pledge to take back to your museum, of what you can do, and is in your power to achieve, to make a significant difference to your carbon impact.

In the words of a previous delegate, ‘Carbon Literacy is about understanding what I actually need to do, where I can get help to do it, actually doing it and seeing that I’ve done it.’

Who is this two-part Course aimed at?

This course is for volunteers and paid staff who work in a museum based in the south east that is enrolled in the Museum Accreditation scheme. We advise that two people from your organisation attend the Course for peer support when developing actions. The course is strategic in nature, and whilst anyone can attend, delegates who are responsible for business planning and strategy may get the most out of this course.

The Course will be delivered via an online platform for which you will need a computer or tablet to access and includes presentations, joint working exercises and discussion and video content. You will also need a good web connection for the virtual Course.

What does the two-part Course involve?

The Course will be delivered in modules. To become certified as Carbon Literate, you must complete the entire Course and submit your individual and organisational pledges as explained in the final session. You will also need to budget time to complete a Participation Action Form after the training to become certified. You will have two weeks to complete this.

By booking on SEMD’s Carbon Literacy Course, you are committing to undertake 7 hours of Course, split over a series of two sessions:

Session 1

Live online session via Zoom

22nd September 2022

10:00-12:30

This session will include a pre-recorded course introduction and the basic science of climate change. This introductory workshop will give an overview of the Carbon Literacy course and link delegates to watch a documentary that presents the science and facts about climate change. In the Introduction, you will be given some questions to consider when watching the documentary. There will also be a chance to hear about a museum case study as well as interactive learning opportunities. You will also be provided with some take away tools to help you make changes in your museums. We will be supplying a take-away practice scenario that we will encourage you to undertake in your museum to really embed your learning and allow you to practice in a meaningful context.

Session 2

Carbon Literacy Course

Live online Course via Zoom

29th September 2022

10:00-14.45

This session will focus on the impacts of climate change, equity and vulnerability as well as the roles of museums in tackling the climate crisis and green recovery. You will be asked to reflect on the questions posed during the first part of this session. There will also be a focus on carbon budgets, the UK and International policy positions, and carbon footprints. The afternoon session is all about action planning and how we talk about climate change with others.

Please plan to attend both sessions. If you cannot attend both sessions, you may not be able to be certified at the end of the course.

How do I book places on the Course sessions?

To book a place on both sessions, please click the link to our Eventbrite page here

Please Note: The information gathered through the booking form will be used by SEMD to send you joining instructions as well as a follow-up evaluation survey. It will also be shared with and used by The Carbon Literacy Project for them to provide you with certification for the Course.

Please also let us know if you need us to make any reasonable adjustments so that you can access this Course.