On 11th March 2025, the Ulster Museum in Belfast hosted an energising and thought-provoking shared learning event as part of the Fixing Our Broken Planet (FOBP) Community of Practice. Organised by the Natural History Museum in collaboration with National Museums NI, the Northern Ireland Museums Council, and Northern Ireland Environment Link, the event brought together cultural, environmental, and educational professionals from across Northern Ireland to explore how museums can support climate and biodiversity action through creative engagement and community collaboration.

The day featured a rich mix of talks, workshops, and participatory sessions, focused on sharing tools, ideas, and real-life case studies to support more hopeful, place-based responses to the planetary emergency.

Key presentations included:

• Amy Bell (Climate NI), who outlined how cross-sectoral coordination and policy support can enable effective climate adaptation in Northern Ireland;
• Camilla Tham (Natural History Museum), introducing Generation Hope, a programme designed to empower 16–25-year-olds to take climate action through storytelling and skills development;
• and Anna Taylor (Armagh Observatory and Planetarium), who demonstrated how satellite data is being used to monitor climate change impacts across the globe.

Workshops offered participants a chance to get hands-on. Nigel Cook (NMNI) led a beginner’s guide to biological recording, helping participants identify local species in the Botanic Gardens and encouraging citizen science as a key response to biodiversity loss.

A special highlight of the day was a curator-led tour of Wild Ireland: Past, Present, Future, a new exhibition at Ulster Museum. Guided by Dr. Mike Simms, attendees explored striking artwork by Julian Friers, showcasing Ireland’s lost megafauna and current biodiversity challenges. The exhibition provided a visual and emotional bridge between deep time and today’s urgent ecological concerns.

The “World Café” session allowed attendees to hear from a variety of creative and community-led projects, including:

• Artitude (Northern Ireland Resources Network), which uses arts and storytelling to encourage climate dialogue and challenge attitudes to waste;
• A Growing Story (Quarto Collective), focused on food heritage, seasonal planting, and shared urban growing spaces;
• and Interconnected (Natural History Museum), a new initiative supporting local organisations through funding, scientific input, and public programming.

The event received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees, many of whom emphasised the value of connection and shared learning:

“It was an excellent opportunity to hear from a diverse range of organisations and discover what’s happening locally.”
“I felt inspired and supported to engage young people with environmental action.”

A digital summary of the day, including links to talks and resources, is available here: Museums of Hope Sway

The Northern Ireland Museums Council is proud to support this growing community of practice and remains committed to helping museums play an active role in creating a more sustainable and hopeful future.

Written by and photos from the Northern Ireland Museums Council