Australian Museum announces major new investment in Climate Solutions Centre

Author(s)

Claire Vince
Published

01 November 2023
Read time

2 minutes

Sydney, 1 November 2023: Today the Australian Museum (AM) announced a major new three-year collaboration with GreenCollar, Australia’s largest environmental markets investor and project developer, for the AM’s Climate Solutions Centre (CSC).

The CSC was initially formed in 2021 to research and communicate climate change impacts on Australia’s and the Pacific’s biodiversity as well as technology and community solutions. It’s already staged a ground-breaking exhibition called SPARK!, established an advisory group of leading climate change advocates and innovators, and is now touring ‘Future Now’ an exhibition about how we can mitigate climate change impacts through new technologies.

Aerial landscape of river between mountains — GreenCollar helps farmers, graziers, traditional owners and other land managers to identify and create commercial opportunities through nature-based projects that enhance their productive agricultural enterprise while caring for the environment and delivering tangible social and economic benefits. Image: Supplied
© GreenCollar

Kim McKay AO, Director & CEO of the Australian Museum said “GreenCollar’s investment will not only enable the AM to grow the research capacity of the CSC, but also fund new collaborative research projects including a First Nations ‘Caring for Country’ initiative, joint projects between the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI) and GreenCollar, and the development of a content platform dedicated to climate change solutions as well as an exciting regional touring exhibition.”

“As custodian of the nation’s largest natural history collection documenting our region’s biodiversity, coupled with our track record of research and public engagement, the AM is well placed to share knowledge about new technologies and solutions with the wider community,” she said.

Nerida Bradley, Green Collar’s Chief Impact Officer and a member of the AM’s Climate Solutions Centre advisory group said that the Museum’s focus on research and solutions is core to the success of GreenCollar’s investment in the CSC.

“The Museum has an incredible team of scientists and associates who, like GreenCollar, are working on how to deliver the transformational change we need to address the intersecting climate and biodiversity crises.

“Everything we do at GreenCollar is grounded in science. We are committed to investing in scientific research and are looking forward to co-designing research projects with the Australian Museum, an organisation we’ve long admired for its commitment to responding to the climate emergency.

The partnership plays to both our strengths, and I believe together we’ll be able to ‘move the dial’ in understanding the importance of developing, testing and communicating the importance of innovative climate solutions,” Bradley added.

GreenCollar in the field — GreenCollar helps farmers, graziers, traditional owners and other land managers to identify and create commercial opportunities through nature-based projects that enhance their productive agricultural enterprise while caring for the environment and delivering tangible social and economic benefits. Image: Supplied
© GreenCollar

Globally renowned climate advocate, mammalogist and honorary fellow of the Australian Museum, Professor Tim Flannery said that if we continue to see higher temperatures, disruptions to the food chain, and a reduction of habitable land because of fires and rising oceans, then these disturbances will have big financial costs and implications for all of our livelihoods.

“However, with targeted initiatives such as the investment in the CSC by GreenCollar, we hope to change the conversation around climate change from one of disaster, to one of hope. We won’t be downplaying the emergency, but we’ll be putting solutions, ideas and shared knowledge in the spotlight,” he says.

“This is all about engagement, finding what works, and helping it to grow. It’s about business opportunities and solutions that we can share with our fellow Australians,” Flannery added.

The Macdoch Foundation, led by Founder and Director, Alasdair MacLeod, provided seed funding of $150,000 to establish the CSC and support the AM’s climate-related efforts. This was pivotal in growing the capacity of the centre to the stage where it can now flourish with further investment and build partnerships with stakeholders who are focussed on the community and environment.

As part of the partnership with GreenCollar, the CSC will transfer its operations to the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI) overseen by the AM’s chief scientist and director of AMRI, Professor Kris Helgen. The AM’s Director and CEO, Kim McKay, who has spent more than 30 years campaigning globally on environmental issues, will chair the CSC while the AM’s team of professional communicators and curators, including Dr Jenny Newell (Curator for Climate Change) along with the advisory group, will help hone the program and activities of the CSC into the future.

The AM will soon advertise new project management and science research roles for the CSC.

Current activities of the AM’s CSC include:

Touring Exhibitions: Future Now
Interactive AR experience Mt Resilience
Community Workshops
Community Conversations including The Talbot Oration
Digital Climate ‘Hub’ on the AM website here

About the Australian Museum

The Australian Museum (AM) was founded in 1827 and is the nation’s first museum. It is internationally recognised as a natural science and culture institution focused on Australia and the Pacific. As custodian of more than 22 million objects and specimens, the AM is uniquely positioned to provide a greater understanding of the region through its scientific research, exhibitions, and public and education programs. Through the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI), the AM also plays a leading role in conserving Australia’s biodiversity through understanding the environmental impacts of climate change, potential security threats and invasive species.

About GreenCollar

GreenCollar is a profit-for-purpose organisation, and the leading environmental markets project developer and investor across the carbon, water quality, biodiversity and plastics markets in Australia. Founded in 2011, GreenCollar has been working in partnership with hundreds of farmers, graziers, traditional owners and other land managers to create a better future for the land and their livelihoods by generating environmental credits and valuing natural capital through environmental markets. GreenCollar’s management team was fundamental in helping to establish Australia’s carbon market framework as well as Queensland’s Reef Credit program and are widely recognised as thought leaders in the environmental markets industry. The company recently launched the NaturePlus Standard for NaturePlus™ Scheme which aims to open up opportunities for biodiversity improvement projects to be developed in a way that mobilises private investment.

Editors note: Interviews are available with Kim McKay AO, Director and CEO of the Australian Museum, Professor Tim Flannery, Dr Jenny Newell and Nerida Bradley, CEO of Greencollar.