Our progress

$Lavender and other herbs growing in the medieval herb garden at Pontefract Castle$

Our progress

Wakefield Museums and Castles have committed to Do A World of Good for the planet. Our Environmental Action Plan outlines how we will work more sustainably. Here are some of the actions we've taken so far.

A child using a mini pair of binoculars to look around a nature reserve recreated in paper sculptures

A World of Good gallery

In 2025 we opened our exciting new A World of Good gallery at Wakefield Museum.

The display tells the story of Charles Waterton. Waterton was a pioneering environmental campaigner in the 1800s. He created the world’s first nature park at his home at Walton Hall.

A World of Good explores the ongoing relevance of his work as we face today's climate crisis.

Visitors can pledge to Do A World of Good themselves.

An adult looking at a display containing artwork inspired by the natural environment at Castleford Museum

Sustainable exhibitions

Our Sustainable Exhibition Guidelines help us to reduce our impact on the environment. They cover the lifetime of an exhibition, from planning to deinstall.

We aim to work with local suppliers, artists and contractors. We use natural, biodegradable, low-carbon, recycled and recyclable materials wherever possible.

We reuse and recycle our equipment, structures and materials across different exhibitions.

$An adult looking at a display case containing decorative glass objects in the Glass Room at Pontefract Museum$

LED lighting

All our galleries and display cases use LED lighting.

In 2023 we updated Pontefract Museum's Glass Room. We installed new LED track lighting and fitting LED lights inside the display cases.

LEDs are more energy efficient and last longer than traditional bulbs.

They also help to protect museum objects because they don't get as hot or emit UV.

A floral inspired artwork on the barrier around the top of the Sandal Castle keep, with the grounds in bloom around it

Planting for biodiversity

We're helping improve biodiversity at our castles.

In 2022 to 2023 local schools and members of the public planted nearly 9000 bulbs at Pontefract Castle. The flowers don't just look pretty. They're great for pollinators.

Our fantastic volunteers have been doing insect surveys. They record the species found on our site.

At Sandal Castle over 100 Hedgerow Heroes from local schools helped us to repair our hedges.

They planted native species and learned about biodiversity. They worked with an artist to create a special installation inspired by nature.

A hedgehog exploring some grass covered in autumn leaves

Creating wildlife habitats

We welcome wildlife at Pontefract Castle.

We've installed bat boxes and bug hotels.

We're working with Castleford Hedgehog Rescue to create nesting places. They have advised us on how to improve the castle grounds as a hedgehog habitat.