Involvement in a Happy Museum commission facilitated Charlotte’s move from IWM to the zoo sector, where the drive to change things for the better is perhaps more explicit Chester Zoo’s mission is to be a major force in conserving the natural world. In addition to our field work, conservation breeding and scientific work, we focus on how we can engage people with some of the major issues our planet faces and on encouraging a connection with nature, fostering active citizenship and behaviour change. Concern for the environment is threaded through our decision making – we aim to ‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talk the talk’. This focus on the environment and sustainability is well developed in many zoos and this is something we could share with the wider cultural sector through the Affiliate Scheme.

The team have participated in the action research project of fellow Affiliate Culture24 – Lets Get Real 6 – focusing on digital social value.

Read more about how Chester Zoo used Happy Museum thinking and the different models of community engagement the zoo uses in its conservation campaigns.   From museums to zoos