High tech gardens at the Natural History Museum switched on!

Alongside thriving wildlife, the Natural History Museum’s gardens are now teeming with a network of sensors collecting real time data about the environment following a landmark switch-on moment in the Museum’s pond. The Museum opened its transformed gardens last summer and has since seen five million visitors explore them. As well as a green space for visitors to relax and explore the diversity of life on Earth, these gardens are a living laboratory for the Museum’s 400 scientists and their colleagues.

Now, thanks to a new network of sensors collecting live environmental data, part of the Museum’s partnership with global cloud provider Amazon Web Services (AWS), the gardens are set to become one of the most intensively studied urban nature sites of their kind. The network of 25 sensors has been installed across the Nature Discovery Garden, gathering a wide range of environmental and acoustic data. This includes temperature and humidity readings to monitor microclimate variations, and underwater acoustic recordings from the pond, alongside the sounds of insect wings, bird calls, and ambient urban noise such as traffic, all helping scientists understand how nature interacts with its surroundings.

All this data feeds into the Museum’s pioneering Data Ecosystem, a powerful platform built using AWS cloud technologies and developed in collaboration with AWS. The system will allow scientists to collect, enrich, and share biodiversity and environmental data rapidly and accurately across this small, rewilded urban space including water and soil chemistry. This rich stream of data is vital for understanding how urban nature is changing and what actions can support its recovery. With millions of visitors and a central London location, the Museum offers a unique opportunity to study the dynamic relationship between people and nature. AWS technology has enabled the Data Ecosystem to seamlessly scale with a 200% increased use in the last 15 months.

Ed Baker, Acoustic Biology Researcher at the Natural History Museum said, “We’re incredibly excited about the switch-on of our new environmental sensor network. This marks a major milestone in transforming our gardens into a living laboratory, helping us better understand how urban nature is changing in real time. With the support of Amazon Web Services, we’re now able to collect and share data at an unprecedented scale, deepening our understanding of biodiversity and drive forward science-led nature recovery in the UK’s urban spaces.”

As well as data collected on-site in the Museum’s gardens, all data collected through the Museum’s community science programmes will also feed directly into the Data Ecosystem, including BioBlitzes, Nature Overheard and the Big Seaweed Search. Community science projects involve Museum scientists working collaboratively with communities and individuals across the country to carry out scientific research relevant to their local area. By recording observations and wildlife activity anyone anywhere can contribute to better understanding of the biodiversity around them, providing the evidence and then taking action for change and nature recovery. Over 96,000 people recently engaged via the Nature Overheard Community Science Programme, studying how noise pollution affects insects.

As well as new data going into the data platform, large volumes of historical visual wildlife observations from the Museum’s gardens, collected from 1995 right up to the transformed gardens opening in July 2024, and environmental DNA data have also been uploaded onto the Data Ecosystem. Such large volumes of data need to be streamlined, carefully managed and verified rapidly in order to be useful for science research.

Hilary Tam, Sustainability Leader, Europe Middle East & Africa at Amazon Web Services said: “We are delighted to support the Natural History Museum to transform and accelerate its scientific research and community science capabilities with the cloud. By building the Data Ecosystem using cloud technology the Museum’s scientists can securely store and process data from the gardens for the first time. This allows the Museum to turn this data into actional insights to support the UK’s urban nature recovery. The scientists can continue deepening their understanding of the UK’s urban diversity by using the cloud to scale-up the Data Ecosystem as more data from the gardens is collected over time.”

Recently, the Museum welcomed its Patron, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to explore the newly developed gardens and learn more about the work of scientists in the space.

In the recent paper, ‘Catalysts for change: museum gardens in a planetary emergency’ in the journal Plants, People, Planet, Ed Baker describes how redeveloping the grounds and gardens allows museums to use living plants to connect outdoor spaces with indoor exhibits, illustrating biodiversity challenges. The authors conclude that the Museum gardens will play a key role in nature recovery research and education, while also sparking ongoing dialogue about creating diverse, green spaces at cultural institutions.

The Museum gardens are the first step in the NHM150 campaign transforming its South Kensington site in time for its 150th anniversary in 2031: placing groundbreaking research at its heart, revitalising four existing galleries, opening two new magnificent galleries and delighting 1 million more visitors a year with the wonders of the natural world.

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Please find a selection of images here.

Image credit: © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

Natural History Museum Press Office

Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5654 / 07799690151

Email: press@nhm.ac.uk

About The Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is a world-leading scientific research centre and one of the world’s most visited museums. Our mission is to create advocates for the planet – people who act for nature.

Our 400 scientists are finding solutions to the planetary emergency - from reversing biodiversity loss to resourcing the green economy.

We are seeking an additional £150 million to transform our South Kensington building: placing our groundbreaking research at its heart, revitalising four existing galleries, opening two new magnificent galleries and delighting 1 million more visitors a year with the wonders of the natural world.

Supporters and Sponsors of the Museum gardens and the Urban Nature Project 

A wide variety of trusts, foundations, companies and individuals are supporting the Urban Nature Project including Amazon Web Services, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Evolution Education Trust, The Cadogan Charity, Garfield Weston Foundation, Kusuma Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, Charles Wilson and Rowena Olegario, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Clore Duffield Foundation, Workman LLP and Accenture. 

Amazon Web Services 

Since 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com. 

The National Lottery Heritage Fund   

Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.  

Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.  

heritagefund.org.uk  

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund 

Evolution Education Trust 

The Evolution Education Trust helps raise awareness of the importance of the Theory of Evolution by funding impactful projects in the areas of therapeutics, education, conservation and fundamental research. 

The Cadogan Charity 

The Cadogan Charity supports communities, contributes to a sustainable environment and protects heritage. It has supported charities involved in animal welfare, education, conservation and the environment, military, medical research and social welfare. 

Garfield Weston Foundation 

Established in 1958, the Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide variety of charities across the UK. The Foundation’s funding comes from an endowment of shares in the Weston family business – a successful model that still exists today. The Weston family has a consistent aim. The more successful the family businesses, the more money the Foundation can donate. 

Each year the Foundation gives away its income and donations have continued to grow. Since it was established, it has donated over £1.5 billion, of which over half has been given away in the past ten years. In the most recent financial year the Foundation gave away around £130 million to nearly 3,000 charities across the UK. 

Kusuma Trust 

Kusuma Trust UK is a family led philanthropic trust established in 2010. The Trust gives grants to organisations based on shared values and mutual interests in the UK, Gibraltar and India. Since inception, Kusuma Trust has made significant contributions in the areas of health, education and culture through capital, programme and research grants.    

The Wolfson Foundation 

The Wolfson Foundation is an independent charity with a focus on research and education. Its aim is to support civil society by investing in excellent projects in science, health, heritage, humanities and the arts. 

Since it was established in 1955, some £1 billion (£2 billion in real terms) has been awarded to more than 14,000 projects throughout the UK, all on the basis of expert review. 

X: @wolfsonfdn 

Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 was established in 1850 to organise the Great Exhibition. The Exhibition made a significant surplus which the Commission, under the guidance of Prince Albert, used to purchase an estate in South Kensington. This estate has developed to become a centre of scientific, cultural and educational excellence which now houses the Natural History, Science and V&A museums; Imperial College London; the Royal Colleges of Art and Music; and the Royal Albert Hall, all of which the Commission continues to support in their work in education, research, science and the arts. Today, it is focussed predominantly on awarding postgraduate Fellowships and Scholarships, for advanced study and research in science, engineering, the built environment and design. It also awards grants to support projects consistent with its overall aims, many of which are focused on raising the awareness of the young to the opportunities presented by science and engineering. 

Clore Duffield Foundation 

The Clore Duffield Foundation, established by Sir Charles Clore in 1964, celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024. 

Now chaired by Sir Charles Clore’s daughter, Dame Vivien Duffield, the Foundation supports UK charities working in the arts, education, social welfare and health. 

Workman LLP 

Workman LLP is the UK’s largest independently owned commercial Property Management and Building Consultancy firm, employing more than 850 staff across 11 UK offices, with a growing presence in Europe. Professional Property Management and Building Consultancy teams work with a client base which includes leading institutional funds, overseas investors, and property companies. What sets Workman apart from the competition is its specialist focus, national coverage, and independent status. For further information, visit workman.co.uk or to find out more about Workman’s drive to build biodiversity across its managed portfolio, visit www.workman-building-biodiversity.co.uk.