The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) is hosting an international program named “Climate Action for Sustainable Built Heritage Conservation and Management.” This initiative focuses on the restoration of the Whaling Museum’s Candle Factory North Wall and aims to address the impacts of climate change on cultural heritage through training, risk assessment, and international collaboration, involving professionals from various countries and organizations like ICCROM.
The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) is set to host a cohort of international professionals for an extensive four-week program entitled “Climate Action for Sustainable Built Heritage Conservation and Management.” This program centers around the ongoing restoration efforts of the Whaling Museum’s Candle Factory North Wall, which commenced this month, and is a crucial part of broader flood mitigation and resilience strategies being implemented on Nantucket. “We are thrilled to launch this program and continue this critical work that has been two years in the making since we hosted our first symposium on climate change conservation and protection with the National Park Service back in 2022, and had our first eight-week program to evaluate the conditions of each of the NHA’s properties with students and working professionals in the summer of 2023,” stated Niles Parker, NHA Gosnell Executive Director. NHA has selected 11 professionals from nearly 200 applicants worldwide, hailing from diverse countries including Japan, Iraq, Albania, Spain, Kenya, Portugal, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, and India. The program will run from October 28 to November 22, focusing on assessing climate risks to valuable heritage sites, formulating monitoring and adaptation strategies, and fostering an international network of skilled professionals. The curriculum comprises lectures, hands-on workshops, and site visits to NHA restoration projects, culminating in presentations by participants to be shared with the public. According to Glenn Boornazian from Integrated Conservation Resources, Inc. (ICR), “One idea that we all agreed on at the symposium in 2022 is that there is a great deal of data that has been generated on climate change at an overarching level, but there is no real site-specific data that helps us understand threats and therefore design conservation and stabilization solutions to address those threats on the ground.” In January 2024, NHA formalized a three-year Agreement with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) to promote collaborative research and training initiatives aimed at shaping global policies concerning climate action in built heritage conservation. This partnership is unprecedented and deemed essential for safeguarding Nantucket’s historical sites and leveraging ICCROM’s global networks for broad information dissemination. As articulated by Rohit Jigyasu, Ph.D., Program Manager at ICCROM, “ICCROM is looking very much forward to collaborating with the Nantucket Historical Association and Integrated Conservation Resources, Inc. for this pioneering training course that will help in building capacities of professionals from around the world to protect and manage built heritage from the increasing impact of climate change.” ICCROM operates as an intergovernmental institution aimed at conserving all forms of cultural heritage globally. Established by UNESCO post-World War II, it serves as a pivotal platform for experts from various fields to unite in efforts to restore and preserve cultural sites affected by conflict.
The Nantucket Historical Association’s initiative emerges amidst an urgent global dialogue on climate change and its detrimental effects on cultural heritage. With rising sea levels and increasing disaster risks, the need for adaptive conservation measures has never been more pressing. The NHA program is a response to this necessity, aimed at not only safeguarding local heritage but also contributing to a global repository of data and strategies pertinent to heritage conservation in the context of climate change. Collaborations with organizations like ICCROM exemplify a committed effort to address these challenges through education and international cooperation.
In summary, the Nantucket Historical Association’s hosting of the Climate Action program marks a significant step toward addressing the impacts of climate change on cultural heritage. This initiative not only aims to enhance the resiliency of Nantucket’s historic sites but also seeks to generate valuable site-specific data that can inform conservation practices worldwide. By fostering an international network of professionals and collaborating with organizations like ICCROM, the NHA is poised to lead innovative efforts in heritage conservation in the face of climate uncertainties.
Original Source: nantucketcurrent.com
