Ecological Thinking and Action
We believe a better future requires us to rethink how we care for our planet and its inhabitants.
Join us as we work towards a more sustainable and collaborative future, with climate and social justice and understanding between cultures at the heart of all we do.
The activities and resources in this section explore different ways of caring - for people, places and things, as well as ideas, beliefs and relationships.
Wild - coming late 2023
People are starting to value wild more, from wild back gardens to large-scale rewilding projects. But wild means different things to different people.
‘Wild’ is a new exhibition that will explore the very concept of wild and different perspectives to bring a richness to our understanding of it.
It will highlight examples from the UK and around the world of the ways people are currently using wildness to shape the landscapes around us. From Yellowstone, to the Knepp Estate and urban Manchester projects, the exhibition will highlight the various ways rewilding and conservation is being done.
By sharing inspiring stories and advice and guidance to support individual or collective intentions, Wild will move from speculation to action.


Grey on Green
We’ve launched a new project in partnership with Southway Housing Trust to highlight the contributions older people make to a sustainable world. Grey on Green will be led by older people who will share their wisdom for a sustainable lifestyle and discuss their experience and observations of the climate and ecological emergency.
Older people often embrace more sustainable habits, such as shopping locally, wasting less, and consuming seasonal food. These are some of the ways to ensure our impact on the environment is kept to a minimum.
A number of events and activities will take place during this year-long project and a Grey on Green guidebook filled with advice and tips will be produced.
If you, or someone that you know, is interested, please contact: j.dean@southwayhousing.co.uk or
maria.ramosacevedo@manchester.ac.uk;
or telephone 0161 448 4227
Roots and Branches : Carbon Literate museums
Roots & Branches is a two year project launched in November 2021, aiming to accelerate the museum sector's ability to respond to the climate crisis.
In partnership with Museum Development North West and the Carbon Literacy Trust, this project will enable us to scale up the roll-out of Carbon Literacy training across museums in England.
The ‘branches’ of the project will create an environmentally aware and active sector. The 'roots' will be hosted at Manchester Museum , creating a nationally significant co-working hub of cultural environmental action that will bring together museum staff, educators, environmentalists, artists, researchers, third sector organisations and students.

Cucusonic is a new album raising awareness of the biodiversity of Colombia and its importance globally. The album was created by combining the work of a collective of Colombian biological scientists, anthropologists and musicians, partnered with The University of Manchester’s ‘Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology’ and charity, In Place of War.
The album was released 29 October in the build up to COP26

Student Guide to the Climate Crisis
Pooja Kishinani and Marion Smith, students at University of Manchester, have created a guide for students around three themes- the emotions, basic information and activist advice of climate change.
“We’re left to burn in the heat, the lower class…”
Take a moment today to listen to Planet-People-Power, a new composition by Farah Ahmad Khan and Balraj Singh Samrai.
This powerful and very relevant piece was commissioned by Season For Change and Manchester Museum to explore climate change and environmental inequality.
Music and poetry is interspersed with profound interview excerpts.


Recorded and composed in summer 2020, Wild Chorus reflects a unique moment of global quiet.
It acts as a time capsule of the first lockdown, blending field recordings of nature with sonified weather pattern datasets.