What did the project involve?
Natural history collections are more than repositories of specimens, they are living archives of cultural, scientific, and environmental knowledge. Yet many carry legacies of colonial acquisition and unequal power dynamics that continue to shape access, interpretation, and how knowledge about nature is produced and valued today.
This radically collaborative project brings together three interconnected, practice-based strands and enables ethically grounded, mutually sustaining, reflective, and genuinely co-produced work—essential for addressing complex colonial legacies that exceed the capacity of any single practitioner or project. Frameworks and practical tools for working with collections were developed—and within natural history—in ways that prioritise transparency, dialogue, indigenisation, and justice, particularly concerning repatriation and shared stewardship.
Beyond Return: Reframing Repatriation
Exploring how natural history collections can support reparative practices beyond the return of specimens. Combining scientific, cultural and community practices, the project investigates questions of belonging and guardianship using case studies from Nigeria and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Education: Reimagining Natural History Curriculum
Working with young people, artists and community organisations to explore how the new Natural History GCSE can serve as a testing ground for decolonial and reparative teaching.
Unearthing Plant Stories
This project traces the entwined histories of environment, diaspora, and plants, uncovering their ongoing legacies. Working collaboratively, the project surfaces diverse ways of knowing, improves accessibility, and addresses representation and environmental justice.
Who are the team and what do they bring?
Community and Indigenous Knowledge
- Nigerian and Māori diaspora participants
- Bristol-based community collaborators
Community Research and Creative Practice
- Iman Sultan West
- Tara Sachdeva
- Maca Gomez-Gutierrez
- Sid Boyer
- Ellayah Woodward-Lindsay
- Rising Arts Agency
- Compass Presents
Education and Curriculum Development
- Michelle Graffagnino (University of Bristol)
- David Rawlings (University of Bristol)
Curatorial Expertise
- Ruby Abrahams (BMAG)
- Lisa Graves (BMAG)
- Isla Gladstone (BMAG)
- Claudia Hildebrandt (University of Bristol)
- Ann Matchette (University of Bristol)
- Isaac Te Awa (Te Papa)
- Amber Aranui (Te Papa)
Critical Friends
- Gift Chinwendu Tazamu
- Alyson Hallett
- Mark Jackson
- Nicky Sugar
- Fiona Anne Batt
- Heart of BS13
- Hartcliffe & Withywood Micro-Campus
- Pervasive Media Studio
- Trinity Arts Centre
- Bristol Botanic Garden
- University of Bristol staff involved in the 2026 Natural History & Nature Connectedness Open Unit