Culture's Role in the Sustainability of Natural History Museums: Using Appreciative Inquiry to develop a Nature Inspiration Center at the Canadian Museum of Nature

In light of our ecological crisis, scientists studying biodiversity are recognizing the value of Indigenous and local knowledges in the development of conservation research. At the same time the field of environmental education is engaging multidisciplinary and Indigenous pedagogies to increase the ecoliteracy of students. Natural history museums are institutions tasked with the research and collection of the world's biodiversity, and the informal education of its visitors. Their role in the twenty-first century requires they become adept collaborators with Indigenous and local communities, and their visitors, to foster innovative sustainability solutions. In other to become economically and socially sustainable themselves, these institutions are required to transform their practices and begin co-creating exhibits and programs which are relevant to the interests of their visitors. However, to enact this transformation these museums must first address their many challenges. This major research project introduces these challenges, and argues that to overcome them these science-based institutions should create collaborative cultural centers. The Nature Inspiration Center at the Canadian Museum of Nature represents such an opportunity. To build capacity for collaboration within Canada's national natural history museum, I facilitated and evaluated a positive organizational change method; Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The results of my two AI interventions provided evidence for the potential and success of AI within these institutions.This method grounded in positive psychology improved communication between departments and fostered a planning environment which helped to reduce the institutional 'chatter' distracting museums from their mission (Janes, 2010). By addressing these barriers to internal change, this natural history museum is beginning to take responsibility for its role as a proponent for sustainability.