Sustainability
Sustainability is central to our mission. We sensitively conserve and manage our built heritage assets, including their adaptive reuse as museums or venues; restore and protect our natural ecosystems and landscapes; and conserve and care for our collections, including the state archives, so that they will all be valued assets for future generations.
Our approach
As custodians of significant cultural heritage, Museums of History NSW has the responsibility to accelerate our efforts to be a sustainable organisation, take positive climate action, reduce resource consumption and encourage change within the community.
Through our Sustainability Strategy July 2024 – December 2026 our ambition is to change the way we work and amplify our impact through the actions of our staff, broader community and partners across government and industry.
Sustainability partners
Collaboration and creativity are at the heart of our sustainability strategy. Through the City of Sydney’s Sustainable Destination Partnership, MHNSW works collaboratively to improve the sustainability of Sydney’s accommodation and entertainment sector.
MHNSW is a member of the NSW Government’s Sustainability Advantage program to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices and cultivate networks and collaborations to solve sustainability challenges.
Sustainability in action
![Government Printing Office; NRS 4481, Glass negatives. NRS-4481-4-44-[AF00194836] Immigration Barracks Sydney, August 1871 [Department of Public Works]](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/03/9ed3ccc6d6db479a96fc023302e74dc7.jpg)
Conservation in action: Hyde Park Barracks northern range refurbishment works
In collaboration with experienced heritage consultants and traditional tradespeople, MHNSW is undertaking conservation works to the northern range buildings
Stage 3 learning programs
Students investigate stories of the First Fleet and settlement in Australia, convicts, the impact colonisation on Indigenous people and their cultures, the changing environment, the gold rushes and bushrangers
Plant your history
Conservation in Action: Vaucluse House bush care
The gardens team undertake important work on the ecological restoration and recovery of the Olola Avenue boundary bushland
How to manage mould in our homes
Warm wet weather encourages not only plant growth in our gardens but also mould growth in our homes. Thankfully we have the solution
Sustainability stories
Browse all
The coolest room in the house
What practical techniques can we learn from historical building design to minimise heat and energy consumption in our homes today?
Conservation
Vaucluse House kitchen garden
The Vaucluse House kitchen garden recently underwent a significant rejuvenation project to preserve the site and allow it to continue to be used as a valuable educational resource
Underground ruin now supplies water
The underground tank, or cistern, at Meroogal was originally the main supplier of household and garden water, holding around 40,000 litres in its mostly submerged brick belly
The 2022 NSW Floods
Residents’ photos and testimony submitted to the government inquiry into the devastating NSW floods of 2022 tell raw and powerful stories of the disaster and its aftermath, and expose the impact of climate change
Permanent display
Edge of Trees
This site-specific piece commissioned for the forecourt of the Museum of Sydney at its opening in 1995 was created by artists Fiona Foley and Janet Laurence
Sunday 1 January
Our historic houses in 3D
A project to capture 3D scans of MHNSW properties will greatly assist conservation work and create exciting new interpretation opportunities far into the future
Learn more