The Jurassic Coast Trust has secured funding from the John Ellerman Foundation’s Museums and Galleries Fund to deliver the exciting next phase of the Jurassic Coast Collection.
The funding will power the work of the Trust towards conserving the incredible fossils collected across the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and engaging people with the extraordinary stories they hold.
Lucy Culkin, CEO for the Jurassic Coast Trust says: “We are thankful to the John Ellerman Foundation for supporting this work, which has been frustratingly constrained due to the effects of Covid; along with our partners, we are now looking forward to taking some significant steps in the near future.”
L to R: An exceptionally well-preserved cricket from the early Jurassic Period; Xipheroceras ammonite from Charmouth; Dapedium (fish) fossil.
The Jurassic Coast Collection’s next phase will focus on three key aims:
• Improving public access to and engagement with fossils through programming, digital content and exhibitions.
• Supporting the management and sustainability of existing public fossil collections with a number of museums and visitor centres in Dorset, Devon and further afield.
• Addressing the question of long-term security of privately owned fossil collections.
The long-term security of fossils is a long term ambition for many of the Jurassic Coast’s community of dedicated fossil collectors, whose world-class specimens are largely held in private ownership, and which need to be secured for the long-term benefit of the World Heritage Site and the hundreds of thousands of people who live, work and play here. The Jurassic Coast Collection’s next phase will deliver a scoping study assessing the various options to achieve this.
Exploring Jurassic Coast fossils at Bridport Museum.
Chris Reedman, Conservation Officer (Paleontology) for the Jurassic Coast Trust, says of the news:
“We are absolutely delighted to have secured funding from the John Ellerman Foundation to drive the Jurassic Coast Collection forward. This work represents a unique opportunity to conserve and inspire people with the phenomenal specimens collected along the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver the Jurassic Coast Collection’s next phase.”
The Jurassic Coast Trust’s Conservation Officer (Palaeontology) Chris Reedman.
Find out more about the Jurassic Coast Collection.
To speak to someone at the Trust about the Jurassic Coast Collection, please contact Chris Reedman.
