A Sustainable Future for Nantucket’s Built Heritage

The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) has partnered with several heritage conservation organizations: International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), Integrated Conservation Resources Inc. and Integrated Conservation Contracting, Inc. (ICR-ICC), and the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania to assist in developing a disaster and climate risk management plan for its historical assets. This new initiative brings private and public partners together to apply an integrated framework for the assessment of Nantucket’s most important historic properties and by extension, all such assets on the island.
A graduate student internship program has been created in Summer 2023 to begin a preliminary survey and assessment of the approximately 20 historic properties of the NHA, (in addition to several other representative historic properties on the island) including past site (legacy) records and structural and material assessments as well as environmental context. Together with regional climate data, this survey will identify the critical factors that are threatening each site and define site vulnerabilities and risks . Such analysis holds the key to more sustainable interventions and long-term preventive conservation and management of these sites and their collections.
The program recognizes the unique island laboratory of Nantucket and its potential as a training ground for students and young professionals who will confront these issues in their professional careers. It will also allow the NHA to move forward quickly in a manner that not only protects its historical assets but also satisfies its mission to promote and to educate in heritage conservation and transform those activities into narratives worth sharing with the local community, and other communities both national and international.
This presentation summarizes the findings of the 2023 summer internship program and sets the stage to further this research in the coming years with concrete deliverables for protecting and sustaining Nantucket's built heritage.

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I've heard that there once was a man from Nantucket. Id like to hear his input on this subject.