PWSS EcoMuseum
What is an EcoMuseum?
EcoMuseums are designed to share the experience of place, community, people, and their natural and cultural heritage. They provide the opportunity for communities to actively participate in developing dynamic and fluid relationships and to share and learn about their stories in their own ways.
As a recognized Saskatchewan EcoMuseum, Prairie Wind & Silver Sage is part of the Saskatchewan EcoMuseums Initiative. In November 2014, the SEI was recognized by the United Nations University as an Outstanding Flagship Project in Okayama, Japan, at a meeting of over 150 international delegates, including over 70 Regional Centers of Expertise on ESD as well as representatives from UNESCO and other UN Agencies. Announcement of the award by Lead, the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to building leadership capacity for sustainable development, included special mention of Prairie Wind & Silver Sage.
The Saskatchewan EcoMuseums Initiative steering committee is chaired by Dr. Glenn Sutter, Curator of Human Ecology at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. In 2011, there were only a few EcoMuseums in Canada and none in Saskatchewan. Dr Sutter started to explore the potential for them as part of his human ecology research program at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM). This set the stage for the SEI, a provincial research and community engagement project that has helped to increase interest in the model and establish a handful of demonstration sites.
“Dr Sutter’s work on this front has involved building partnerships, describing the EcoMuseum model, studying the role that EcoMuseums can play in sustainability education, and working with interested communities, including the Village of Val Marie. Located in southwest Saskatchewan, Val Marie is one of several small communities in a sparsely populated region that includes large areas of native mixed-grass prairie and a rich ranching heritage.
The EcoMuseum concept and development at Prairie Wind & Silver Sage owes much to the support of Glenn Sutter, and the efforts of individuals that include Hugh Henry and Heather Sauder. The four initial themes chosen were landscape, wildlife, ranching, and night skies. They remain the focus of the displays in the Little Brick Schoolhouse.