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Students (15-16 year olds) from Budmouth Academy, Weymouth, explored how young people could influence decision makers to create more sustainable fashion, energy and communities.
They then selected four museum objects to ‘declare emergency’. This formed part of the Kids in Museums’ initiative to curate a narrative on the climate crisis through the lens of young people.
“The item of which I was particularly interested was the small, presumably copper, shears that were buried and found with the skeleton of a woman.
“This item drew my attention mainly due to the simplistic and easily recyclable design unlike it’s modern-day counterpart – which we cover with plastic for seemingly no reason. This makes it economically redundant to recycle, so the manufacturers don’t even consider it.
“Walking through the upstairs exhibits, I came across many things that fall under this genre of adding plastic unnecessary to items. Such as the hand mirrors which nowadays are near-impossible to recycle as not only is the reflective surface in a plastic shell, but the reflective surface itself is a laminate sheet. Unlike the easily recyclable single material hand mirrors of the past.“
Morgan Bond
“Did you know that every time you flush the toilet you use 1.6 gallons of water?
The average person flushes their toilet five times a day, so in a year you use 2920 gallons of water alone just on your toilet.
This earth toilet from the museum’s collection is far more eco-friendly because it uses earth, ashes and coal instead of water. These materials are released into the bucket to mix with the human waste. This could be used as fertilizer and is far more eco-friendly than a modern-day toilet. However for this eco-friendliness you are sacrificing good sanitation.
So how do you think we can make modern-day toilets more eco-friendly yet still meet our expectations for sanitation?”
Mia Pullin
“Did you know that cattle produce an estimated 6kg of leather per head, and the global average water footprint of raising cattle for leather is 17,093 litres per kilogram? This vast consumption of fresh water can cause serious ecological problems, in which run-off waste creates an overgrowth of plant life in water systems. This can suffocate animals by depleting oxygen levels in the water. Is this impact worth it?
“However, we can also ask ourselves, would it be better and more sustainable to purchase one long-lasting leather product, or multiple poor-quality synthetic duplicates? The damage caused by ‘fast-fashion’ in today’s culture equally amounts to a negative impact on our environment. The chemicals exuded within the production of many basic cotton garments can be detrimental to nearby ecosystems. Therefore, could buying quality over quantity be the way forward? What do you think?
“I chose this particular object, because I have an interest in the effects of ‘fast-fashion’ on our planet. As an A-Level Textiles student, I am very aware of the negative impact that fashion production has on many ecological communities. I believe that we could all benefit from putting in a little more consideration when giving in to our purchasing habits.”
Emily Mowlam
“Did you know that nuclear waste takes between 1,000 and 10,000 years for the radioactivity to decay? Do we really think that nuclear power is a long term solution to our energy crisis?
“On the site of the dragon reactor there were nine experimental reactors in total. This took up a total of 320 acres of rural land (enough land to feed a herd of 40 cows for 64 days) and was solely built to test fuel and materials for another project which was the European high temperature reactor programme.
“Nuclear power plants will typically have an operating lifespan of 20-40 years after taking five to seven years to build and then taking at least seven years to be decommissioned afterwards. Nuclear reactors are much less impactful than most of our energy methods even though it still has its problems. So that leaves the question, will we ever find the perfect solution?”
Josh Pearson
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.
The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!