Sir David Attenborough has unveiled a powerful and poignant quote as part of the Natural History Museum’s Urban Nature Project, currently underway to transform the London Museum’s five-acre gardens into a hub for urban nature and biodiversity.
Sir David Attenborough’s compelling words: ‘The future of the natural world, on which we all depend, is in our hands’ were unveiled in bronze lettering on the east carriage ramp outside the Museum’s main entrance and will overlook the new gardens.
At the unveiling Sir David Attenborough said:
“Each of us must cherish the natural world that surrounds us, from wide open countryside to tiny patches of green in our cities. I hope the Urban Nature Project and the new gardens at the Museum will take learning into the open air and inspire young people to continue to value, understand and support the natural world on their doorsteps and far beyond.”
Through the Urban Nature Project the new gardens spanning around the Museum grounds will be somewhere visitors can learn more about the incredible diversity of life on Earth, and Museum scientists can develop best practices to protect urban nature. The Museum’s existing Wildlife Garden will be extended to double the area of native habitats within the grounds, with the aim of better supporting, monitoring and managing the animal and plant life diversity.
Elsewhere in the grounds, new outdoor galleries will tell the story of evolving life on Earth from 540 million years ago to the present day, following an immersive timeline of plants, trees, reptiles, birds and mammals. Children will come face to face with a life-sized bronze Diplodocus immersed in a Jurassic landscape.
The gardens will also be home to scientific sensors gathering environmental DNA and acoustic data, to monitor, understand and protect urban nature. A sunken walkway between the ponds to allow greater accessibility for pond dipping activities while ‘future nature’ will also be explored, trialling species that we expect will soon be able to thrive in urban areas due to the microclimate and increasing temperatures.
Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum said:
“We were honoured to welcome Sir David Attenborough to the Museum to unveil his powerful and inspiring words which will overlook our new gardens.
Knowing that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, it’s more important than ever to protect the wildlife in our urban spaces. Through the Urban Nature Project, the Museum is encouraging visitors and young people to explore natural history in a new way, giving them the tools to look to the future and safeguard nature in towns and cities.”
The new gardens are due to open in spring 2024.
You can find out more about the Urban Nature Project at: www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/urban-nature-project.html
Bravo Sir David, all this needs to be reinforced in the minds of the next generation.
(But unfortunately the second photo on my screen looks like he is having a p on the flowers!)