Culture Forager, Vol. 8

Welcome to Culture Forager, where we forage for Nature-y cultural happenings and other good things, so you don’t have to. In this edition, there’s a big bird-watch, a brilliant free course and some lovely stuff to listen to, amongst others…

The Sound

Fancy tuning into a forest while you go about your day? Course you do. Tree.fm plays random, crowd-sourced recordings from forests all around the world. Flick through birdsong from forests in Ibiza to Indonesia – and connect to Nature (and calm) from your desk. There’s a Google Chrome extension too, for those emergency, need-to-listen-to-a-forest-right-now moments (we all get them).

Tree.fm, designed by New Now

The Exhibition

If you’re in Cornwall (or looking for an excuse to visit), check out Storm Warning in Penzance. The two-venue exhibition ‘seeks to raise awareness of the impact of the climate crisis on coastal communities in Mount’s Bay [Cornwall] and South Essex’. See innovative, informative and inspirational artworks and engagement projects from Angela YT Chan, Rebecca Chesney with Lubaina Himid, Something & Son and more.

Storm Warning: What Does Climate Change Mean for Our Coastal Communities? Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, Penzance, Cornwall, until 13^th April 2024. 12-month pass for entry to both galleries: £7.

The Bird-Watch

We're feeling inspired by The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch last month, and want to keep watching those birds! If you need more feathered friends in your life, visit one of the UK's ten Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust 'wetland wonderlands'. For February Half-Term, many are running the 'Big Hideout' programme of family bird-watching events. But whatever the time of year (or your age!) there are always brilliant birdwatching opportunities with the wetland restoration charity.

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, various venues and entry prices.

The Course

The University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group is doing sterling work around humans’ connection with Nature. Led by Professor Miles Richardson, the group is developing ground-breaking evidence into nature connectedness and its benefits for both human and environmental wellbeing. They even wrote about us putting Nature on the Board in their Nature Connected Organisations Handbook (page 29)! And Richardson has written a self-guided, online Nature Connectedness course that delves into the group’s work and encourages learners to actively consider their relationship with Nature. 20 hours well spent.

Nature Connectedness: For a New Relationship with Nature. Online, takes approximately 20 hours, free of charge.

The Podcast

You might have heard about Knepp, the pioneering rewilding project on a 3500-acre site in West Sussex. Since it started 20 years ago, endangered species including turtle doves, purple emperor butterflies and nightingales have made it their home. It’s a fascinating ecosystem, and proof that given the chance, Nature can bounce back. On the Knepp Wildland Podcast, you can join Knepp ecologist, Penny Green, and ‘experience some of the wildlife wonders encountered, the secrets uncovered and the remarkable people who are part of the project’.

The Knepp Wildland Podcast, on all the usual podcast platforms, free.