Today, London - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square [read more]
The kind of tweet we can get behind
Using the wonders of technology, Extinction Rebellion and The Nest Collective will rewild Berkeley Square from 6pm today (Monday 29 April) with the song it is most famous for. Through synchronised streaming of the Nightingale's mesmeric yet seldom heard courtship song via mobile phones and mobile speakers, our pop-up action will fill the park and surrounding streets with the song of a creature nearing extinction on this island.
The birdsong will be accompanied by offerings from musicians, singers, poets and anyone who wants to collaborate with the finest singer in the world.
In the midst of the heightened attention to the ecological and climate emergency we want to bring people together in celebration of the musical beauty of the natural world. This central London rewilding action aims to bring poetic focus to the shocking demise of our own native species and give Londoners the opportunity to hear a once ubiquitous songbird, now near extinct in the UK, in its mythic notional home.
Written in 1939, this renowned ballad tells of the impossible moment when a now critically endangered nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) sings in Mayfair's famous garden square. Nightingales have not been heard in Central London, let alone Mayfair, for several hundred years. However, through the magical power of people and technology this Monday 29 April, Extinction Rebellion, Sam Lee, The Nest Collective and a pop-up flash mob of nature enthusiasts, musicians and supporters will gather to rewild nightingale song back into Berkeley Square. We invite the public to use their 3G connected smartphone device or tablet and a mobile bluetooth / wired speaker to stream the birdsong to be amplified in a sonic rewilding of the square.
