Our Green Story
Reflecting on Dr. Livingstone's love for wildlife and the natural world, we are committed to preserving our cultural heritage at David Livingstone Birthplace while inspiring future generations' curiosity through our environmental stewardship. Green Tourism has guided our sustainable changes as we work towards our Green Tourism certificate. Set amongst our beautiful parkland along the banks of the river Clyde, our museum intends to champion our progressive, challenging, inclusive, and engaging values, intertwining Blantyre's history with a greener future.
Refurbishment
Our green journey towards sustainability started with the site's regeneration project in 2018. The restoration of David Livingstone Birthplace was carried out with sustainability in mind, ingraining environmentally friendly practices in our site, so that we can continue to be conscious of the resources we consume and our ecological impact. However, the museum's restoration was considerate of Blantyre's cultural heritage, returning Shuttle Row to its former glory when it was first built in 1786 through a re-harling process. Replaced with a concrete render in the 1980's, through our refurbishment, we returned to the traditional lime-harling process, which better protects Livingstone's birthplace for future generations and is distinctive of Scotland's historic buildings.
Our refurbishments also look to the future to reduce our carbon footprint by implementing energy-efficient lighting systems into our museum and pavilion building, ensuring we continue to operate sustainably. Following our four-year refurbishment, David Livingstone Birthplace was eventually reopened in the summer of 2021, heading towards a greener future.
Our refurbishments also look to the future to reduce our carbon footprint, by implementing energy efficient lighting systems into our museum and pavilion building, ensuring we continue to operate sustainably. Following our four-year refurbishment, David Livingstone Birthplace was eventually reopened in the summer of 2021, heading towards a greener future.
David Livingstone Birthplace Now!
Our drive towards sustainability does not end with our restoration, within our museum we continue to make sustainable improvements whilst maintaining the historic significance of our museum. Recently, we are making strides to reduce our carbon emissions and increase our energy efficiency, whilst preserving Shuttle Row as a grade A listed building. As Shuttle Row was constructed in 1786 the building’s construction is dated and draughty, recently we have implemented secondary glazing and new draught proofing measures, which will improve Shuttle Row’s thermal envelope and reduce excessive use of energy.
Our Grounds
Surrounded by 26 acres of parkland, we continue our journey towards sustainability within our grounds, creating a welcoming green space for Blantyre’s community and local wildlife. Cared for by our garden volunteers, we continually support the natural environment's biodiversity, through establishing dead hedges which create natural hideaways for birds, hedgehogs and insects. Our work along the Clyde supports the maintenance of natural habitats for otters and herons, and we have even spotted the return of beavers to the river.
However, our parkland is more than a green space for wildlife, it also benefits our local community. Distinguished by the Livingstone and the Lion statue, a center piece of our park, we maintain our grounds so visitors can explore along our winding nature trails, following in the footsteps of David Livingstone who was inspired by Blantyre’s wildlife during his years living in Shuttle Row. We have also added bike racks to our grounds, to encourage more sustainable means of visiting our site, making it easier for visitors to cycle to and around the grounds. If you want to find out about how to visit us sustainably, learn more on our ‘Being a Greener Visitor’ page. We have also worked to create a mindfulness garden, a peaceful space for visitors to sit amongst nature, cared for by our garden volunteers.
Cafe
When visiting our café, you’ll see that we have continued our drive towards sustainable change within Livingstone's Cafe. We have made a firm commitment to reducing single-use items; by participating in the Refill initiative, we encourage our customers to bring along reusable coffee cups and takeaway boxes to reduce our use of single-use items. We have switched to compostable alternatives, so any single-use items that we use are sustainable and eco-friendly. We have clearly marked our recycling to ensure that every item ends up in the right place! We have also started using a composter to help reduce our food waste in the cafe, composting food waste from within our kitchen and from customers to reduce excess waste. From this food waste, our composter produces nutrient-rich soil, which is used in our polycrub.
We use locally sourced suppliers like our coffee beans are locally roasted by ‘We Love Coffee’ in East Kilbride, and our dairy is supplied by Park Farm Dairy in East Kilbride. This helps DLB reduce our carbon footprint and support local green businesses.
Recently, we have added a PolyCrub to our grounds, just outside the cafe! With the support of our garden volunteers, we have started the process of growing our own vegetables and herbs. Looking to the future of our green journey, we aspire to using the produce from our Polycrub in our cafe, allowing us to source our food as locally and responsibly as possible!
Gift Shop
When stocking our shop, we keep sustainability in mind, considering the carbon footprint of our suppliers and the materials used to ensure we keep our commitment to ethical sourcing. We’re proud to support local producers in our shop, like Caldergrove honey sourced at a nearby Blantyre apiary and artwork created by the Hillhouse and Earnock art group. Our generous volunteers contribute to our sustainability journey, creating knitted crafts like butterfly hair clasps, hats and scarves or even knitted Christmas puddings! When you shop with us, you’re supporting local green business!
Community Engagement
Sustainability reaches beyond environmental improvements but social ones too, to support people and their communities now. At David Livingstone Birthplace, we rely on our local community's support from our dedicated volunteers, and in turn we strive to return this support to the community. Throughout the year, we offer workshops and events to engage with the local community, from our annual community day to our weekly workshops like Friday yoga and Tuesday arts & crafts.
Our Green Aspirations: Honoring the Past, Protecting the Future
As we continue our journey towards Green Tourism certification, we remain dedicated to preserving the legacy of David Livingstone while working to protect our planet. Our end goal is simple: to create a space where the past is honored, the present is enjoyed, and the future is protected. Whether you’re visiting our café, shopping in our store, or participating in one of our community programs, you’re playing a part in that mission.
To find out more about our sustainable commitments, read our sustainability policy!
