Embedding Sustainability in Cultural Heritage Conservation Education

FAIN: PR-276760-21

UCLA; Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA 90024-4201)
Glenn Wharton (Project Director: May 2020 to September 2023)
Ellen Pearlstein (Co Project Director: February 2021 to September 2023)

An eighteen-month research project to develop models, tools, and a strategic plan for teaching sustainability in cultural heritage conservation programs.  Funding would support a research associate for the duration of the project who would coordinate activities between UCLA faculty, Getty Conservation Institute scientists, and an outside advisory board consisting of engineers, architects, and conservators with demonstrated expertise in sustainability.

The UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials respectfully requests $75,000 for a Tier I National Endowment for the Humanities Research and Development Grant. We are proposing an eighteen month research project working with a Research Associate and an Advisory Committee to create a strategic plan for teaching sustainability in cultural heritage conservation. The project is the first phase of a larger initiative to integrate sustainability theory and practice into course offerings, convene a workshop of interdisciplinary experts, and create models and scalable curricular materials for publication by eScholarship, an open access publishing platform subsidized by the University of California. We will develop materials through research at UCLA and the Getty, and distribute them widely to benefit educational programs in cultural heritage conservation, library and archives preservation, and conservation of the built environment.

Associated Products

Preliminary Research into Education for Sustainability in Cultural Heritage Conservation (2022) Studies in Conservation (Article)
Title: Preliminary Research into Education for Sustainability in Cultural Heritage Conservation (2022) Studies in Conservation
Author: Wuebold,
Author: Pearlstein
Author: Wharton
Author: Shelley
Abstract: Researchers and practitioners of cultural heritage conservation are increasingly aware of the field’s impact on the physical and social environment. Faculty at the UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage are working to support the next generation of researchers and practitioners to become leaders in adapting conservation for the climate crisis and addressing social inequity. This paper presents the first stage of an initiative to develop models for embedding sustainable practices into conservation education and producing scalable curricula for broad dissemination. In this first phase, we performed literature reviews, canvassed the field through surveys, conducted interviews and developed curricula for our laboratories and classrooms. Survey results indicate a high international interest in incorporating sustainability principles in cultural heritage education, but with a corollary challenge of being unable to substitute new concepts for those already taught. Literature reviews and interviews introduced the authors to existing pedagogical approaches for embedding sustainability within our courses. Sustainability concepts such as the Three Pillars of Sustainability, the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Inform, Engage, Empower and Embed (I3E) systems provide guidance in our teaching. The next phase of the initiative will involve a close evaluation of pedagogical systems for integrating sustainability into the existing curriculum to ensure that emerging professionals in art conservation, built heritage, libraries, archives, archaeology and historic preservation will prioritize intersectional environmentalism. A future goal is to disseminate educational models broadly for adaptation by others.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00393630.2022.2059642
Access Model: Open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Studies in Conservation
Publisher: IIC

, “Climate Change: Conservation Education is Key to this Agenda” (Article)
Title: , “Climate Change: Conservation Education is Key to this Agenda”
Author: Wuebold
Author: Marina Herriges
Abstract: I cannot express how delighted I am to see this special issue about sustainability with so many remarkable contributions. In response to heading in this challenging direction, we have been confronting our professional status quo. Most importantly, we are generating debate about the subject, including everyone in the discussion, creating awareness and considering possible solutions. For this issue I opted to focus the content of the column on another subject that I am very interested in: conservation education. I strongly believe that education is key to addressing climate change. Here I am referring not only to formal education, but also to the responsibility we, as professionals, have towards others who are coming into the profession from formal training, work experience, apprenticeship or any other perspective. I also include our responsibility for the communities we inhabit. There are so many ways we can share and facilitate knowledge as well as learn from other perspectives.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.iiconservation.org/content/climate-change-conservation-education-key-agenda
Primary URL Description: News in Conservation e-magazine
Access Model: Open access
Format: Other
Publisher: IIC

Sustainability Curricula for Cultural Heritage Conservation (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Sustainability Curricula for Cultural Heritage Conservation
Writer: Wuebold
Director: Wuebold
Producer: ICON Sustainability Network Twitter Conference
Abstract: ICON Sustainability Network Twitter Conference
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw1bJ2Z0oK0
Primary URL Description: YouTube video
Access Model: Open access
Format: Digital File

ICON Sustainability Network Webinar (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: ICON Sustainability Network Webinar
Writer: wuebold
Director: ICON Sustainability Network
Producer: ICON Sustainability Network
Abstract: ICON Sustainability Network Webinar
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.icon.org.uk/groups-and-networks/sustainability-network/resources.html
Primary URL Description: ICON Sustainability Network
Format: Digital File

Focus on Conservation 2022: Facing Climate Change (Web Resource)
Title: Focus on Conservation 2022: Facing Climate Change
Author: wuebold
Abstract: Focus on Conservation 2022: Facing Climate Change
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Conservation Program V6.pdf
Primary URL Description: Focus on Conservation 2022: Facing Climate Change 29 November – 2 December 2022, online

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