The Natural History Museum (NHM) has launched a fundraising campaign for its Urban Nature Project, which will transform its grounds into a free green space in London.
The five-acre site at the museum, set to open in summer 2023, will feature new outdoor galleries that explore evolving life on the planet from 540 million years ago to the present day.
Highlights will include a giant bronze diplodocus surrounded by plants from the Jurassic period. The garden will also boast scientific sensors to monitor and protect urban nature.
The project is designed to encourage children to embrace nature and biodiversity outside of the classroom, with the garden offering a learning and activity centre for educational activities.
“The Urban Nature Project opens the door for young people to fall in love with the nature on their doorsteps and develop a lifelong concern for the world’s wild places,” said Sir David Attenborough.
“Nature isn’t just nice to have, it’s the linchpin of our very existence, and ventures like the Urban Nature Project help the next generation develop the strong connection with nature that is needed to protect it.”
In a survey commissioned by the Natural History Museum, 85 percent of young people in London said school students would learn more about the natural world by experiencing it in person.
The survey also found that children and young people in London are more likely to connect with nature via social media than a walk in the park.
Getting children to embrace biodiversity
“We know that getting children outside inspires them to care for the nature that surrounds them,” said Lauren Hyams, head of garden activities at the Natural History Museum.
“The Urban Nature Project will allow children and families to explore the museum in a new way, and reconnect them with the outdoors, giving them the tools to safeguard nature in towns and cities, so that people and planet can thrive.”
Those who want to support the project can donate any amount. Alternatively, they can give $50 to sponsor a square metre of the garden or £250 to engrave a name on the jetty railings.
Gifts of £500 let donors engrave a name with a symbol of nature, and people can donate £5,000 – £10,000 to engrave a name on a bench.
Images: Natural History Museum
