Green Tea

Together Roxy and Kim troubleshoot the multifaceted nature of what “sustainability” means. To create holistic change, there should be consideration of more than one singular facet (carbon emissions, energy use, waste management, etc). Kim highlights the various published guides on how to go about making more socio-environmental beneficial choices and how various priorities can be balanced or have co-benefits based on institutions’ choices. Using these guides as starting frameworks, institutions can build off of each other’s work tailoring it to fit their own needs. Specifically considering exhibitions: choices about material purchasing, use, and reuse and policy decisions like prioritizing using internal collections instead of loans can have a significant impact both financially and socio-environmentally.Using her experience working in contemporary artists’ studios, Kim directs the conversation towards including artists’ agency in the storage and display of their work and being flexible to their ideas which may be counter to our current expectations. Other topics in this episode include breaking down silos and establishing communication with artists, art handlers, and couriers throughout the exhibition installation and travel processes.Kim mentions a guide from the Design museum as a specific case study. Later this year, we will be speaking with Elise Vander Elst from the Design museum about their research and the impact guide, which you can find in the show notes. Stay tuned!Design Museum - Waste Age Exhibition and Guide Reusable Crate Systemshttps://rok-box.comhttps://turtlebox.com/en/GCC Carbon Calculator – GCC’s free (for members) online carbon calculator – recent update includes exhibition and fine art shipping materialsGCC Artist Toolkit - brings together practical ideas, actions, and resources to support all aspects of art production, display, and storage – includes a section on exhibition-making GCC Artist Resource Index – a repository of online tools and resources for studio practice, materials, exhibition-making, impact measurement tools, material sharing and reuse platforms, fine art transport, and social sustainabilityObjects as Temporal Entities – The Centre for Sustainable Curating and the Synthetic Collective set out to provide discussion points and riders that could be added to acquisition contracts, detailing the outcomes of conversation on sustainable options for the care of artworks and objects in collections. Acquisitions riders and discussion points

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Cecilia Salgado and Marlene Sámano about their role as cultural heritage conservators and educators in Mexico and Latin America more broadly.Cecilia Salgado is a photographic conservator in private practice who is currently studying for a Masters in Sustainability and Social-Environmental Projects. Currently her work involves finding adaptive strategies in photographic conservation towards a low environmental impact in her practice. Marlene Sámano is an architectural heritage conservator and a professor at La Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (ENCRyM). Her work in teaching includes the intangible and constructive cultural aspects to create a more holistically approach toward built heritage conservation.They describe how sustainability is incorporated into their work and how it is both a new concept and an old one rooted in traditional understanding of the landscape. Both guests touch on how adaptability is essential to our future as a field and as communities: that with climate disasters increasing, we must recognize how our environmental contexts are shifting. We are at a strategic point in history where we can define what sustainability looks like in our field, determine how best to adapt on both local and global scales, and utilize our values to direct our actions to better safeguarding our heritage, supporting our communities standard of living, and bettering the health of our planet.Marlene mentions the Laboratory of Traditional Technology at ENCRyM. Here, an anthropological approach is taken towards knowledge that has been passed down generationally, but is at a risk to be lost. This includes studying historic techniques for producing objects, use of local materials, indigenous knowledge, and ways of relating to the landscape and environment.Manual de Sostenibilidad Ambiental en la Conservación de Fotografías is an open access manual that Cecilia wrote to more easily share tips and techniques.For a similar topic: Please check out Season 2 Episode 10 where we speak with the UCLA Getty program.Resources referenced in the episode:2017 Earthquake in MexicoSTICHPlanetary boundary - Stockholm resilience centerCircular Economy7 R’s

At AIC’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Pejuta Haka Win Red Eagle joined the Sustainability Committee on a luncheon panel about mindful collecting in the time of climate change. She returns now to speak with Roxy about her perspectives on the preservation of Native American cultural heritage and the value community partnerships can have on collections care.She highlights how native-led provenance models can positively impact collections care and better inform stewarding institutions in identifying and exhibiting the cultural heritage accurately. It is better to ask the community members than to exhibit materials with minimal understanding because misinterpretation can lead to misinformation. Humility in recognizing that we don’t know everything about the material and reaching out for help leads to more accurate information. The communities are gifting their knowledge and it can lead the field towards a more holistic approach to collections care.Roxy and Pejuta talk about how the paradigms of ownership and stewardship differ in practice and what museums can do to shift towards a stewardship model that openly includes communities of origin. For many communities there is a deeply emotional aspect to their relationships and being trauma-informed and compassionate are ways in which conservators can engage with respect for the material heritage from communities outside their own.Resources:Minnesota Science MuseumLuncheon Post-print for Luncheon forthcomingFederally-Recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entitiesMinnesota Historical SocietyBishop WhippleIndigenous LedNAGPRA

"Preservation is a state of mind, it is a mission...so we have to allow this opportunity for everyone to be able to preserve."To start out this new season, Roxy is joined by Beatriz Haspo, volunteer executive director of APOYPOnline: which serves a similar role as AIC does for North American conservators. Beatriz explains the goals of the organization through the topics presented at their latest conference in Panama. She builds on themes presented by multiple previous guests, including Josefa and Bianca, about the value of sharing knowledge within more Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions, and expanding training opportunities beyond North America and Europe.As the conservation community continues to expand globally we see this priority of cross-pollinating of training, lived experiences, and sustainability paradigms becoming more predominant. Beatriz emphasizes the importance of a circle of learning: public communities, Early Career Professionals, and experienced conservators alike can all learn from each other. The responsibility for preservation of our shared heritage is a collective effort and its practices shouldn’t be siloed nor its trainings gate-kept.She shares how she has seen the value in a human-centered approach to disaster relief and what work that APOYOnline members have done to strengthen the resilience of their communities through their work with material culture.This episode ends with Beatriz giving a brief review of the topics discussed in the episode in both Spanish and Portuguese. We hope that by including other languages into our programming that we can expand our audience and facilitate more connections between conservators around the globe by breaking down language barriers.Resources:Webpage: www.apoyonline.orgPrograms: https://apoyonline.org/programs/Manos a la obra: https://apoyonline.org/programs/initiatives/manos-a-la-obra/5th Regional Conference: https://apoyonline.org/programs/apoyonline-regional-conferences/2025-panama-city-panama/Donations: https://apoyonline.org/donate/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apoyonlineInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/apoyonline_association/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apoyonlineThreads: https://www.threads.net/@apoyonline_associationTikTok: Link: www.tiktok.com/@apoyonline_associationYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/apoyonlineContact: [email protected]

In this episode, Roxy speaks with three archaeological conservators who regularly conserve archaeological finds lifted from glacial areas in the Northern Hemisphere. In ice patches, areas that are stationary, frozen, and often obscured by snowfall, organic heritage such as plant or animal-based materials can survive with minimal degradation or loss even over multiple millennia. However, the escalating warming of the planet is having a significant impact on these high altitude areas leading to more frequent melting events and exposing more finds. Francis, Margrethe, and Johanna each describe some of the unique finds that have been uncovered due to the glacial melting in their local areas. They also highlight how the stability of these finds can be significantly hindered if left out in the elements due to our changing climate and how important regular surveying is to maintaining an accurate understanding of the area.Additionally Johanna describes her research into how low energy air drying techniques for birch bark materials can be a better alternative to more energy-intensive methods like vacuum drying. If you are also working with glacial archaeological materials from the Southern Hemisphere, or other parts of the Northern Hemisphere such as, Canada or Russian, please reach out to [email protected]. We would like to connect you with this ICOM-CC cohort who are hoping to expand the field’s collective awareness of this unique intersection of cultural heritage conservation and ecological conservation. Resources: UNESCO - Year of Glacial Preservation2025 International UN General Assembly Year of Glacial preservationSecrets of the IceNPS: US Glacial Archaeology Glacier archaeology in SwitzerlandShort film about the history and conservation history of the bow caseInformation about the Bronze Age wooden box containing cerealsExplore the Mountain Center: Norway's largest exhibition of glacial archaeological findsThe Ski from Reinheimen, NOEuropean Heritage Award for Glacier Archaeology Preservation Program, Secrets of the Ice, KHM.

The Climate Toolkit from the Phipps Conservatory aims to create and sustain momentum in and between cultural heritage institutions through free resources and building connections. Lindsey speaks with Andrew Lampl and Jennifer Torrance from the Phipps about their roles in developing the Toolkit’s framework and resources and facilitating connections between institutions to create catalytic change. Using themes from the SDGs, each institution has free rein to build the goals and agenda’s they want to work towards and join working groups built by the Phipps or internally to make sustainable changes. Jennifer highlights her joy in working with youth climate groups to empower the next generation as they navigate growing up in a world that they know needs active change.Andrew reminds us how pivotal it is for the cultural heritage sector to take the lead towards sustainable action. We can have such an impact on our future planet and communities when we work together. Jennifer and Andrew are ready to share how Climate Joy together can help us avoid the inaction that comes from feeling alone in Climate Anxiety.Resources:Phipps ConservatoryClimate ToolkitLEED CertificationPhipps Production Greenhouse LEED Platinum One EarthClimate Resilience ResourcesGreen Tea episode on the Climate Resilience ResourcesRegenerative Systems ThinkingRoger Hart's Ladder of ParticipationUN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeAction for Climate Empowerment

The National Heritage Responders are a unique subset of volunteers from within the American Institute for Conservation who engage in disaster relief. Whether its liaising between institutions, resource building and dissemination, or boots on the ground recovery of cultural heritage in disaster zones, the trained responders are finding their skills regularly called upon as climate change impacts our local communities more each year.Roxy talked with two heritage responders from the Hawaiian Islands, Malia van Heukelem and Liane Naauao, who participated in relief and recovery efforts after the Lahaina wildfires in 2023. They discuss how the scale of the disaster impacted their strategy for relief action and how important it is to be trauma-informed as a responders when victims need to process the loss of their material culture. Mahalo Malia and Liane.We encourage you to donate to the National Heritage Responders through their recent gofundme page since their federal stream of funding which enabled deployments to communities like Lahaina has recently been eliminated.Resources1. National Heritage Responders2. National Heritage Responders GoFundMe3. FEMA Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF)4. Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative5. Lahaina Restoration Foundation6. Maui Recovers7. Treecovery Hawai'i8. "Saving Hawai'i History from the Ashes, One Object at a Time", NYTimes9. Hawai'i Public Radio: Kaiaulu Initiatives

Glenn Wharton and Justine Wuebold from the UCLA Getty conservation program talk to Rachel about their NEH grant-funded project to develop sustainability-focused curriculum.Justine’s role encompassed researching the current state of education surrounding sustainability including the various pedagogical models being used by other schools and programs around the world. This then developed into crafting small scale modules for testing in the classroom by various professors in the program. With its focus on archaeological and indigenous cultural heritage, the program prioritizes “action learning” modules to give students more agency and experience. Glenn discusses how role playing is an active teaching style that allows students to really engage with critical thinking, learn to advocate with evidence-supported ideas, and balance differing priorities in real world scenarios.By opening up the theme of sustainability to include human and social perspectives, students have taken on projects related to Traditional Knowledge and incorporating that learning with contemporary material analysis techniques. These projects are multi-directional as students return to the communities of indigenous knowledge to share what they have learned. Community engagement like this is a pivotal element for conservation students as they are learning to preserve material culture from various communities.The NEH project is only the beginning and next steps involve getting further feedback from students mid-program and post-program, developing workshops with specific themes, and establishing “green lab certification” criteria to further instill sustainable paradigms into practice for future conservators.If your program incorporates sustainable paradigms and practices into its teaching, we would like to hear from you. Please reach out to us at [email protected] with the header “Green Tea” so we can learn more about how you are preparing the future generation of cultural heritage professionals.Resources: 1. UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage2. Wuebold, Justine, Ellen Pearlstein, William Shelley & Glenn Wharton. April 2022. “Preliminary Research into Education for Sustainability in Cultural Heritage Conservation.” Studies in Conservation. 67:sup1. 326-333. DOI: 10.1080/00393630.2022.20596423. Pearlstein, Ellen, Justine Wuebold, Glenn Wharton, and Chedeya Brown. (2024). “Barriers to Embedding Sustainability in Conservation Education and Practice.” American Institute of Conservation Research and Technical Studies Specialty Group Annual Meeting Postprints, Salt Lake City, UT, 9-11.4. The Cloud Institute5. ENCRyM

In our second episode concerning the intersection of the ecological and cultural heritage conservation fields, we learn about an academic think tank called the Natureculture Lab that was held in January 2025. Hanna B. Hölling, Sven Dupré, co-organizers of the Lab, and Maartje Stols-Witlox, co-author of one of the lectures, speak with Lindsey about the beneficial relationship that both conservation fields could develop by engaging more directly with each other. The Lab aimed to break down silos between the two fields with perspectives from around the globe and centered upon themes from sociology, anthropology, and systems evolution. Presenters discussed how the two fields faced similar challenges even though the subjects differ and had similar histories in their development as disciplines.Stewardship has been defined in a variety of ways in both disciplines over time. The Natureculture Lab cohort would often question what it would mean to redefine the concept of ‘conservation’ to be much more inclusive of both naturally-made and man-made entities. In small groups the participants were posed questions concerning how we engage with the nature of change, determine agency or authority to determine actions of conservation, and identify what those actions might be to create a holistically beneficial relationship with our environment now and into the future.Resources discussed:News in Conservation, June/July 2025Donna Haraway - biologist and philosopher of science Bruno Latour - anthropologist, sociologist and philosopher of science Laura Martin - author "Wild by Design"Systems Change TheoryIndigenous or Traditional KnowledgeEcological Restoration "Disturbance" ConceptSociety for Ecological RestorationActive MaterialsConserving Active MatterJacob Badcock, coordinator for Reading Group

In our first of two back to back episodes concerning the overlap between ecological conservation and cultural heritage conservation, Lindsey speaks with Dr Jordan Teisher director of the herbarium at the Missouri Botanic Gardens in St Louis Missouri. Herbariums and other natural history collections contain a wealth of human heritage even if socially we no longer associate them with ‘art’ or other ‘cultural’ objects of value. While some cultures have particular reverence or place significant value upon specific plants, animals or places, it seems that the people of most Western nations have largely ignored the value of our ecological heritage unless participating in the botanical community themselves.Many of the challenges faced by herbarium collections are familiar to museum and library conservators: from navigating overseas loans, developing robust integrated pest management plans, maintaining databases, and participating in digitization efforts. Jordan points out that even though an herbarium specimen isn’t a man-made object like a book or a painting, it still is curated and because it was harvested, mounted, and described through the perspective of a person has historical and cultural significance beyond it’s ecological significance . Even conservation professionals may not see plants as having their own material culture value unless they are elements of an ‘art object’ made by a person, since then they better fall under our purview.Missouri Botanic Gardens Herbarium WebsiteGBIF.orgEthnobotanyHyperspectral scanning of plantsRevolutionizing Species identification projectSPNC conference

Finding safer alternatives to hazardous solvents not only has a positive impact on our planet's health, but also the health of conservation professionals who use the solvents. Very often the problem solving skills that conservators use in determining treatment options already includes a degree of 'sustainability' without perhaps giving it that label. In this episode, Roxy speaks with Rosie Grayburn and Gwen Fife about their project concerning 'greener' solvent use, specifically for removal of resins in paintings' conservation. (For a similar, but different topic within this theme, please see our episode with Soraya Alcala and the MFA Houston's Greener Gels project with GREENART.)While the term 'green' may refer to a 'bio-based' product this alone would not reflect a truly holistic perspective of sustainable practices. Gwen explains how there is a flexible model for weighing options for treatment might be 'greener' and how there's not one 'perfect' solvent, but that we should be viewing our choices through a lens of the complexity of the task and the context of our use. Like in our 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' episode, the most sustainable action may be one that uses what you already have to avoid unnecessary waste, but also considering that you might have multiple options in your chemical cabinet, Gwen recommends reviewing the Hazard Codes in Materials' Safety Data Sheets and the Greener Solvents Handbook to consider the pros and cons of using different materials. The aim of developing sustainable practices isn't to restrict or regulate your choices, but rather create environments where conservators continue to have agency: by expanding our awareness to a multi-faceted and holistic perspective of sustainable chemical use, you'll be better able to make informed decisions for the object you're treating, your health, and the health of the planet. Rosie highlights information from their 2024 survey concerning the field's engagement with solvent use and some of the surprises that data showcased to them. Comparing their results against a 1998 AIC survey on the same theme, they were able to see a decrease in use of specific solvents, an increase in PPE usage by individuals, and most strikingly, a severe lack of annual safety training and chemical hygiene training for a large percentage of our field. She also talks briefly about the project that followed that survey: its focus solvents and the partnership with Dow Chemical.For listeners attending the AIC Annual Meeting this week, please check out the Rosie's talk about this project on Thursday, May 29th at 5pm CT. It's part of the Research and Technical Studies (RATS) session: "Developments in Safer Solvent Selections for the Removal of Synthetic Resins". As either a virtual or in-person attendee, you should be able to review the talk online after the conference as well. Additionally, each annual meeting, the Health and Safety Committee offers a Respirator Fit Test workshop. For more information about the health and safety aspects of our field including information about the Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Communication used in MSDS, please check out the H&S Committee's wiki, available in the show notes below.Resources:1. SiC website2. 2024 AIC Survey Results on Solvent Use, AIC News Brief3. SiC Greener Solvents Handbook, 20214. SiC Greener Solvents Database with Chem 21 Ratings5. GoGr

Continuing our conversation with Latin American conservators, Roxy speaks with Josefa Orrego Trincado is preventative conservator based in Santiago, Chile. Josefa’s recent MA thesis focused on the approaches that LA conservators take to be sustainable. While many don’t use the language specifically, their actions and perspectives often are congruent with sustainable action. Due to financial and local sourcing difficulties, LA conservators are much more adaptive, making reuse a common strategy of their practice as well as reconsidering rigid climate set point regulation, and reliance on energy-consuming equipment. She argues for a more holistic perspective of sustainability one that includes social and economic alongside environmental, and highlights how having a relationship with the indigenous communities as a steward of their heritage has impacted her work as a preventative conservator.She advocates for conservators to occupy higher administrative roles and better communication between LA and NA conservators. Having attended AIC Annual Meeting on a scholarship, she believes there’s much we can do to create more spaces for dialogue between the two geographic groups.One recommendation of Josefa’s we’d like to highlight is make sustainable thinking a part of your lab conversations. The more we talk about how sustainable thinking motivates our actions, we can create momentum for integrating sustainability into our common ethos passively. After all, many of us are already engaging in a sustainable practice, as best as we can; we just might not see it that way. 2. Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino3. Sustainable Development Goals4. Changemakers Webinars Youtube Playlist5. APOYOnline6. APOYOnline Scholarships7. AIC Scholarships

The most common questions that are emailed to the Sustainability Committee relate to disposable gloves. Co-chair of the committee, Kate Fugett, talks to Roxy about an article that she co-wrote in 2022 about the environmental impact of glove manufacturing and waste, as well as the impact on global human health. While there often isn't a satisfying solution for a truly 'sustainable glove', Kate lays out the various avenues that conservation labs can take in effort to be more conscientious of the social and environmental harms that come with this very necessary tool in protecting ourselves and the objects we preserve. Building off of expertise from other fields, we can be more informed about the pros and cons of each solution and decide which impact we would like to contribute: perhaps the conditions of your lab make it easier to recycle the many pairs of gloves you use because you don’t have to worry about biohazards - or your lab decides to prioritize American-made gloves to be ensure that your impact isn’t contributing to social harms and exploitative labor practices - or maybe latex is ideal because no one is allergic, and it's an option with a small carbon impact in waste management terms. **Please ensure you are prioritizing the right material glove for the solvent or hazards you are using. PPE is designed to protect you first and foremost.**Ultimately, “[you] cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that [you] can do.” - Jana Stanfield“The Use, Reuse, Refuse, and Recycling of Nitrile Gloves: A Collaboration between the Sustainability Committee and Health & Safety Network”, 20222. RightCycle - Kimberly-Clark3. Kimberly-Clark Nitrile gloves 4. Terracycle Gloves Zero Waste Box5. STiCH: Gloves6. How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled7. The Myth of Plastic Recycling8. The Fraud of Plastic Recycling9. EPA: Landfills10. Solid Waste Association of North America: Ownership of municipal landfills11. CBP Seizes Millions of Disposable Gloves Following Forced Labor Finding Against Top Glove Corporation12. Notice of Finding that Certain Disposable Gloves Produced in Malaysia with the use of convict, forced or indentured labor are being, or are likely to be, imported into the United States

The ⁠UN's Sustainable Development Goals⁠ (SDGs) considers sustainability through a more holistic paradigm including many themes concerning social, economic, and environmental impacts. Combining many of these themes, Roxy speaks with Bianca Gonçalves, an independent paintings conservator, about her lived experience in Europe, Australia, and Brazil and how it has impacted her perception of the conservation field. Using two recent reports from AIC/FAIC, they discuss some of the current social roadblocks to a thriving and sustainable conservation field.Economic inequality is a reoccurring theme throughout the conversation, concerning pre-program and post-graduate professionals’ experiences outlined in the reports. Starting with a more equitable path to education or training, regardless of economical status or racial background, will help the profession shift into a more diverse community of voices and talents. Heritage belongs to everyone, so everyone should be allowed equitable access to joining the field of preservers of heritage. Bianca brings up a tantalizing question about how gender bias in the current worldview could be impacting the health of our female-dominated profession: “If more men entered the profession, would wages and recognition be increased?” If we cannot sustain ourselves financially, more people will leave the field to only the select few who can afford to stay due to other means, leading to a less diverse community in the profession.She calls for membership institutions like AIC and Icon, to continue to advocate for our field on a national and global scale and that the field must pivot to an environmentally sustainable paradigm in order to validate it further in the public eye: It showcases that we are a profession already ahead of most industries when it comes to prioritizing people and planet and that we can contribute in lasting ways which is worth funding.Highlighting that geographic and economic context can have a radical impact on the problem-solving nature of our work, she describes how resourcefulness, creativity, and a willingness to challenge the status quo can lead to significant positive shifts in our field’s capacity to be environmentally sustainable. We cannot grow as a profession without expanding our idea of what the profession could encompass, who could help it grow in ways that would benefit both people and planet, and convincing the general public that our field is worth investing in. Resources:Universidade Federal de Minas GeraisProjeto de Lei PL 1183/2019FAIC Compensation SurveyECPN Expectations and Realities ReportThe European Green DealAtelier CurArte Green Conservation- Bianca's websiteGoGreen ProjectKiCulture"The gender pay gap is smaller in occupations with a higher ratio of men: Evidence from a national panel study", 2022

“If it was once alive, we can compost it”. Mary Beth and Erlene talk to Lindsey about the nuances of composting plant and animal based materials, from food scraps, to yard waste, to materials we use in conservation labs. They “break down” the differences between the types of composting techniques, what options people around the US might have available to them and where to get started.= 58% of the methane that comes off the landfill comes from the fermentation and breaking down of food and organic waste - most of which isn’t utilized in a useful way and instead impacts our environment negatively. Good news: Most of the plant and animal-based materials we use CAN be composted in MOST compost methods, but for best case: commercial composting is the most comprehensive route. It just takes some research effort to find what local options are available to you and your lab. They also offer tips for managing your own lab-wide or workplace kitchen compost collection to avoid odors, pests, and materials that don’t break down congruently. No matter how small, the pieces add up. Moving organic material out of the landfill can be significantly impactful for our communities: for our water, soil, and atmosphere. Resources from this episode: Collective Resource Compost Cooperative Project Drawdown Chapters of the US Composting Council Community Compost Coalition Institute for Local Self-Reliance Biocycle Magazine Biodegradable Products Institute GoGreen Illinois ReFED Food Waste Impact Calculator

What happens when man-made materials in the archaeological context are agents of deterioration themselves? Prof John Schofield talks to Lindsey about his research in York, England studying the impact of microplastics on archaeological sites and its implications for future studies. The presence of micro and nano-plastics in rainwater means that plastics are omnipresent throughout the planet. As contemporary archaeologists work with sites of the “familiar past” the impact of plastic pollution has to be considered: it’s led to a shift in questioning how their deterioration is going to impact the information gained from in situ sites. They discuss the challenges that cultural heritage professionals face while embarking on new paths of research concerning toxicology. Resources: The contamination of in situ archaeological remains: A pilot analysis of microplastics in sediment samples using μFTIR: York Archaeology Science to Solutions "Rubbish" from The Atlantic, by William (Bill) Rathje Rubbish: the archaeology of garbage" by Williams Rathje Toxic Heritage

Through "A Green New Deal for Archives", Eira showcases how by looking at the past, we can project a manageable way forward towards mobilizing a sustainable workforce within the cultural heritage field, to benefit all communities around the US. Many archival institutions - formal or grassroots - are understaffed to handle current needs, let alone to be successfully adaptive to future climate change impacts. She breaks down with Roxy, why formal policies focused on labor growth, increased funding for safe stewardship of communities' historical records, and a pivot from perceiving climate impacts according to state borders to watershed regions are integral steps to a sustainable future. Resources referenced in the show: Memory Rising Archival adaptation to climate change, 2015: ⁠https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15487733.2015.11908146⁠ Naomi Klein: “This changes everything”: ⁠https://naomiklein.org/this-changes-everything/⁠ A Green New Deal for Archives: ⁠https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/a-green-new-deal-for-archives/⁠ National Heritage Responders Alliance for Response Sierra Club Flood Buyout Program information Local North American Watersheds Indigenous Watershed Initiative, Canada Watershed Partnerships, Hawai'i Find a local archives institution

Soraya Alcala of the MFA Houston joins Roxy for a conversation about her institution’s involvement in the multinational project: HORIZONS Greenart. MFAH joins the TATE, LACMA and the MET in a crowd-sourcing experiment of new materials for paintings, paper, and objects conservation, often trialing the same treatment on works by the same artist. From establishing a collective agreement on the meaning of a ‘green’ solution to sharing feedback for the research and development team, she describes the value found in networks, collaboration, and clear communication. Soraya and Roxy excitedly discuss what it is like being on the assessment team of the project, reformulations of past recipes for gels vs brand new ones, and when the greater conservation field will have access to these trialed materials for their own labs. "I firmly believe that we, as cultural heritage conservators, must not just acknowledge the issue but actively embrace sustainable thinking and work practices. It's not just a professional statement; it's a commitment that the conservation community needs to embrace to the extent of its possibilities. It's incongruous for me to spend my professional life trying to slow down the degradation of human artifacts, testimony of our culture and history of humanity on this planet, and at the same time deny the care of the planet. Museums, as cultural and educational institutions, have the potential to be the leaders in implementing more sustainable practices and showing more care for the planet." - Soraya Alcala Resources from this episode: Greenart Project Greenart LinkedIn CSGI Go Green Conservation Moxy AIC 2024: "A Darkened Canvas and a Mysterious Hand: Analytical Investigation and Sustainable Approaches to the Cleaning of Morris Louis ‘Slide’ (1962)" TATE LACMA Answer the poll if you’d like to hear Soraya return with an update on a future Green Tea episode.

Our understanding of preventive conservation can often be an underutilized asset for collecting institutions. As the climate continues to change and impact our spaces, we must be adaptable and that starts with being well-informed. Conservators can be the data collectors concerning collections' spaces and their climate, but aren't often involved in the mechanical side of our climate maintenance. Adrienne Bell's experience showcases why conservators should have an active relationship with facilities staff and how this relationship can create big picture change for their institution. She talks to Roxy about the challenges that come from interdepartmental communication without a common language and how open dialogue and a willingness to learn from mistakes is all it takes to create an effective and efficient team. For additional resources: ⁠Adrienne's 2019 C2C Webinar⁠ ⁠2019 (47th) Annual Meeting Presentation⁠ ⁠Jeremy Linden HVAC Webinar on C2C⁠ ⁠Sustainability Committee Zotero Resource Bank concerning Buildings⁠ ⁠Sustainability Committee Wiki⁠ ⁠Dew Point Calculator (DPCalc)⁠ ⁠eClimateNotebook⁠ ⁠IPI Webinar “Introduction to HVAC”⁠

As climate change continues to increase the intensity and quantity of natural disasters per year, museums and other cultural heritage institutions need to be informed and proactive about the future. Building upon our field's emergency response knowledge, conservators can utilize their skills beyond the bench and take active roles in the safety and resiliency of the institution and their communities. The Climate Resilience Resources (CRR) project is the first action item of Held in Trust, a four-year cooperative agreement between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC). Held in Trust brought together hundreds of conservation and allied professionals and communities to explore the state of preservation and conservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the United States. The report, released in June 2023, made recommendations for the future of the field across these areas. Stephanie Schapiro, project lead of CRR, explains why these specific resources were developed and what challenges they faced collecting the crucial data that the resources rely on. Joining Stephanie, Kate Macuen and Jose Marchand-Sifre offer their experience trialing the resources and the insights they gained from applying them to their local institutions and communities. Community engagement, proactive planning, and collaboration proved to be pivotal in building successful resilience strategies. We encourage you to take a look at the resources, including the Hazard Risk Assessment Map, to help you better understand the context which your institution is a part of and what action steps you could do to mitigate negative repercussions and preserve our planet as well as cultural heritage.

Since 1921, Trefler Restoration has focused on the maintenance and longevity of historic and sentimental objects for individuals and institutions alike. While their priority of maintaining as much of an original piece remains, they've branched out into creative ways of thinking about reuse and modification for future generations. Head Furniture Conservator, Bernard Murphy, and Projects Manager, Allison Cook, talk to Roxy about the potential extended life to be found in used and loved antique furniture. In the conservation world we're familiar with the concept that many objects live lives well beyond their makers or primary owners. Compare this to the "Fast Food Furniture" of today which is easily accessible but often not meant to last more than one household's use. In this age of over consumption and mass production, Bernard argues that there's a place for "reincarnation of furniture" and how it can lead to not only a less wasteful existence for objects but a fuller appreciation for craftsmanship and the quality of materials.

Exhibits produce a significant amount of waste over a short period of time often due the prioritization of custom mounts which cannot be reused. However for objects of similar size and proportion, like books, modularity and simplicity are not only possible, but ideal when it comes to mounts. Thermoplastics like acrylic and PETG are standard materials for cradles used by most museums and libraries exhibiting books. These costly one-offs often can't be recycled by most local municipalities. So instead of creating waste with every exhibit, reusability is key. Alessandro talks to Roxy about his rationale for developing the Modular Book Cradle System and why it is advantageous for mitigating plastic waste and saving institutions time and money. As more institutions adopt the system, there will be more uniformity in how books are exhibited, which can make inter-institutional loans even simpler and less wasteful. For more information, including schematics and instructions, please contact Alessandro directly. Sources from Alessandro: Contact Alessandro Scola Vivak PET-G Producer: Plaskolite Vivak Fabrication Manual by Plaskolite. (Many other resources are available for download under their ‘Resources’ page.) Precious Plastic : Recycling initiatives TerraCycle : Multiple avenues for recycling including prepaid Zero Waste Boxes by theme. Source about 5% recycling in the US: "Anelia Milbrandt, Kamyria Coney, Alex Badgett, Gregg T.Beckham, ‘Quantification and evaluation of plastic waste in the United States’, Resources, Conservation and Recycling 183 (2022)."

On November 15th, 2022, protestors from Last Generation targeted Klimt’s painting Death and Life as part of their performative activism, exclaiming: “We have known the problem for 50 years. We must finally act. The planet is becoming ruined…Agriculture will no longer work…or do we continue to destroy our world with fossil fuels. Death or Life, that is the decision we have to make now.” (Youtube-generated captions translated to English.) Roxy talks with Carina Korab and Sandra Dzialek from the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria about their emergency preparedness and response to the activism in the gallery. While not every museum will face the sticky situation of the 'ominous black sludge', it is likely that many will face the very real threat of environmental disasters upon collections in the coming years. Carina and Sandra explain navigating the media's response to the event and how being prepared as a group made handling the disaster more manageable than expected. Resources: The Leopold Museums‘ educational program about the effect of climate change: A Few Degrees More – Leopold Museum Vienna Austrian Registrar Committee Website, a network for registrars, exhibition managers and collections mangers in Austria. Austrian Museums Association and the proposal for a unified climate corridor in Austria for exhibitions, it is based on the climate corridor proposal by the German Museum Association.

In 2018, the United States landfilled over 146 million tons of waste which included almost 60 million tons of plastics, glass, metal, and paper. Compare this to the 69 million tons of material that was recycled in that same year. When it comes to the well known phrase 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle', many of us only think of recycling but it's clearly not the answer to our waste problem. Accessible recycling of most materials varies from place to place, city to city, state to state and 'wish-cycling' leads to contaminated batches of recycled material. Bexx Caswell-Olson, from the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Massachusetts, speaks with Roxy about her experience navigating common waste streams in her local area. Small, intentional and creative choices done collectively within an institution can lead to impactful change. Remember the five r's are just the beginning: reduce, reuse, recycle, rehome, repair, rot (compost), etc., I'm sure you can think of more. Waste Stream Resources from Bexx: Earth 911 - https://earth911.com/ Website with recycling resources and advice. Terracycle – https://www.terracycle.com/ Paid recycling programs include gloves, electronics, media storage, textiles, and more! Can provide recycling solutions for materials that can’t be recycled locally. Kimberly Clark Right Cycle - https://www.kcprofessional.com/en-us/solutions/rightcycle-by-kimberly-clark-professional Recycling for gloves and other PPE. Cibra Solutions, WeRecyle – https://www.cirbasolutions.com/packaging Mail-in battery recycling. Buy Nothing Project – https://buynothingproject.org/ Give away usable furniture and supplies within your local community. Staples - https://www.staples.com/stores/recycling Recycles batteries, electronics, printer and toner cartridges. Can drop-off locally. NexTrex - https://nextrex.com/ Directory of businesses that will accept plastic bags and plastic film for recycling through NexTrex’s program.

"'I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do.' - Jana Stanfield." The climate crisis is impacting the entire globe and it's through collective action that we can create lasting momentum towards mitigating our negative impact. But where does one get started? Caitlin Southwick joins Roxy for a conversation about her experience searching for, and eventually developing, communities of change-makers that have had a global impact over the last few years. Excitedly, she tells us about the success that is possible when people get together, determined to make lasting change. Whether it be locally or online, there are many avenues to participate in collective action, and we hope that you're encouraged to do all the good that you can do. Links from Caitlin: International Climate Control Conference Recording on our YouTube Channel - Day 1 and Day 2 Climate Control Program - 20.000 EUR for the full 18 month program Individual Membership - Ki Futures individual memberships start at 50 EUR / month Socials for Ki Culture : | LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | WDHT (WDHT = We Don't Have Time: a social media platform for climate change!)

Annabelle Hornung, director of Nuremberg's Museum of Communication, speaks with Roxy about her experience inviting climate activists into museum spaces to communicate about the climate crisis in an unobtrusive way: without any glue or paint. She showcases the process, challenges, and successes of these kinds of partnerships and gives some recommendations for other institutions who also want to join in this reinterpretation of museum spaces as social arenas for change.

Objects conservator, Netanya Schiff, speaks about their experience with Repair Cafes in the UK and how they came about. Listeners will learn the basics about what is needed to start a Repair Cafe, the impact it has on our local communities, and how it can help conservators increase visibility of our field with the public to expand our skills and services.

Roxy speaks with Bianca Garcia, from the Balboa Art Conservation Center in San Diego, California, about the changing landscape of the art conservation field towards engaging more directly with local communities and their heritage.

ICON accredited conservator, Lorraine Finch, talks about her newest book, "No Cost, Low Cost Tips for Sustainability in Cultural Heritage" and de-bunks the many reasons why sustainability is perceived as more expensive than current practices giving listeners great starting points to consider in their own practice.

We hope you will listen along as we learn more about how caring for the planet allows us to better care for cultural heritage. Subscribe now in your podcast app so you will never miss an episode! New episodes published monthly.