Ballarat’s outdoor museum took out the national award in the ‘Sustainability’ category, with judges saying it had a strong environmentally sustainable museum model.

Sovereign Hill museums director Jillian Marsh said the outdoor museum had taken a number of steps in recent years to consider its ecological impact as a part of the its daily decision-making processes.

“Sovereign Hill is committed to involving, educating and communicating with staff, visitors and the wider museum sector on sustainability issues, to share knowledge and inspire others towards positive change, and we’re extremely proud of the work we’ve done to reduce our environmental impact,” Ms Marsh said.

“It’s an honour to be recognised by MAGNA for the work that we’ve done in this area.”

Some of Sovereign Hill’s sustainability efforts include establishing a process to reduce, recycle and reuse almost everything including food scraps, horse manure, rainwater, scrap metals, timber and building materials; and to turn green waste into garden mulch or firewood.

Ms Marsh and collections manager Liz Marsden accepted the award on behalf of Sovereign Hill in Melbourne at this year’s annual Museums Galleries Australia National Conference.

MAGNA judges said Sovereign Hill had “a strong environmentally sustainable museum model. Sustainability of the project appears strong due to embedding principles in planning, management, operation, behavioural change, visitor and community engagement with ongoing assessment”.

The MAGNAs primarily focus on innovation and excellence in exhibition, audience engagement and indigenous projects.