Historic Past, Carbon Neutral Future: Planning for Climate Action at Historic New England

Historic New England operates 38 historic house museums throughout the region and the Center for Preservation and Collections in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The organization interprets centuries of New England history through public historic sites, programming, and exhibitions. 

Historic New England emphasizes the intersection of historic preservation and sustainable updates to buildings by showing how practices like material retention and use of traditional construction methods are both more sustainable and better preserve the historic character of a building. 

Historic New England will use NEH Climate Smart funding to complete an institutional Climate Action Plan and develop tailored carbon-neutrality plans for two specific historic sites: the 17th-century Pierce House in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and the 18th-century Casey Farm located in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. The institutional Climate Action Plan is intended to be a management document for all sites in Historic New England’s collection, and the site-specific plans for Casey Farm and Pierce House will define goals related to climate justice, resiliency, and mitigation at each site.