This evening Berkeley Square in London will once again be filled with the song of the nightingale.
In homage to much covered song ‘A nightingale sang in Berkley Square’, a partnership between folk musician Sam Lee’s Nest Collective and Extinction Rebellion aims to re-wild Berkeley Square and play nightingale song.
This unusual rewilding aims to highlight the plight of nightingales which have decreased by a staggering 90%, as an illustration of the crisis facing nature and our planet.
As part of this event, Sam, who we have been working with to develop our Let Nature Sing campaign, will play our new single of pure birdsong. Whilst Sam is acting in his own name at the event, our own campaign shares many of these aims.
Extinction Rebellion is right that we’re facing an emergency not only to prevent climate catastrophe but also to prevent millions of species from becoming extinct. As reported yesterday, the Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services publishes its global state of nature report on 6 May and it warns of a “social and ecological emergency”.
As a charity the RSPB clearly does not support illegal activity but choose interventions where we can have most impact – especially those which reconcile competing needs of humans and wildlife. We shall continue to provide and advocate solutions to politicians and businesses to help restore nature but also provide opportunities for our supporters to make their voices heard – for example by taking part in the lobby of Westminster MPs on 26 June.
The crisis facing nature is too big and complex to be solved by any one organisation alone, which is why this noisy spring and grass-roots activism is so important.
We all have a part to play in what must become a diverse and powerful movement to effect the scale of change that is our planet so urgently needs.