REVIEW AND ANALYSIS 87 LEARNING SUPPORT IN A CHANGING CLIMATE ANNA HART IN THIS rapidly changing world that we find ourselves in, it’s easy to feel out of touch or left behind, especially when it comes to new technologies, regulations and the increasingly urgent need to respond to the pressures of the climate crisis. The impact and complexity of this rapid change is being felt in a very real sense in the heritage sector. While this brings many challenges in terms of how we continue to successfully conserve important heritage assets, now and into the future, it also provides a great many opportunities for heritage to offer meaningful solutions to the wider issues we face, through an informed and sustainable approach towards conservation and retrofit. Education and training play an increasingly important role in supporting the wider sector as it faces these challenges. By collating and sharing reliable and up-to-date information and bestpractice guidance, it ensures that practitioners have the opportunity to continually develop their knowledge and skills and can feel confident that they are adequately equipped to make informed and robust decisions. This article explores some of the ways in which the IHBC is taking action to further develop and disseminate relevant information and training opportunities to support its members in facing those challenges. It outlines the work carried out to date to expand on existing training and continued professional development (CPD) offerings, and to provide greater support for those wishing to gain formal recognition of their awareness and competency in historic building conservation philosophy and practice. In April 2020, the IHBC published its position statement¹ on sustainability and the conservation of the historic built environment. The statement recognises the vital contribution that traditional buildings and the wider historic environment make in terms of sustainability, from the use of natural and locally sourced IHBC annual school delegates learning about the design and detailing of the flood prevention measures which now protect homes and businesses around the River Carron in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire (All photos: Jonathan Taylor)
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