School children's letters put climate crisis into perspective at Saffron Walden Museum

The exhibition - which opens on Saturday 8 March - will be available to view in addition to the museum's permanent galleries, at no extra charge. 

Created using letters and pictures by school children from countries such as Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa, the exhibition seeks to show how the climate crisis is affecting people in the world's most vulnerable communities.  

The exhibition, which has travelled around the UK visiting London, Leicester, Birmingham, Shropshire, Canterbury and North Devon, is brought to life with items from across the museum's collections highlighting the themes of pollution, wildlife loss and climate change experienced by the school children. 

Dr Alessandra Palange, the exhibition's curator, said: "We asked children around the world to tell us how the climate and nature crisis is affecting their everyday lives. Within a few months, we received hundreds of handwritten letters, emails, photos and drawings from communities already experiencing the very real impacts of climate change and environmental destruction.  

"The power of the exhibition comes from letting us hear the voices of people who we would otherwise never know existed. These are ordinary people, just like us, who live in communities that are on the frontlines of climate breakdown." 

James Lumbard-Smith, Natural Sciences Officer at Saffron Walden Museum, said: "We are excited to host Letters From the Global South as part of our expanding climate and environment conversation. We're looking forward to sharing some fascinating and rarely seen items from across the museum's collections and connecting them with the crucial twin issues of climate change and global justice." 

Letters from the Global South, created by Zero Hour and Muslims Declare, is designed to raise awareness about the cross-party Climate and Nature Bill that returned to Parliament in January. The bill aims to ensure the UK does its bit to keep to the 1.5C climate target agreed at Paris in 2015, as well as halting and reversing UK nature loss by 2030. It has the support of 184 MPs from all main parties and is backed by over 365 local authorities across the UK. 

Over 1,240 leading UK scientists and numerous national organisations such as The Women's Institute and the National Trust support the bill. Celebrity support includes wildlife expert Chris Packham, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and businesswoman Deborah Meaden from TV's Dragon's Den. 

The exhibition is hosted by Saffron Walden Museum and Uttlesford District Council. 

28 February 2025