RESIDENCY: Knepp Wildland
My residency
What if we went out at 5am in Spring to be met with silence? No glorious dawn chorus. A silent spring. A truly chilling thought.
But there is a story of hope here at Knepp.
My residency tells the story of the scrubland. Much demonised, it is in fact the richest habitat on this planet. Poor yielding arable land has turned into thorny scrubland, home of increasing numbers of Nightingales and Turtle Doves, facing cataclysmic declines elsewhere. Knepp Estate is a leading light for conservation in the UK, demonstrating how giving nature space and opportunity to express itself can restore the land and its wildlife in a dramatically short space of time. In her inspiring book ‘Wilding’, Isabella Tree takes you through this pioneering rewilding journey.
Knepp soundscapes
Inspired by soundscape ecology – the sense that you can hear the health of a landscape – I am recording the sounds of rewilding, particularly the rich tapestry of the dawn chorus and the sonorous Nightingales. I am sharing these sounds – livestreaming from the scrubland for the international Reveil project; uploading recordings to xeno-canto and dawn-chorus; sharing on SoundCloud and social media – see Knepp Nightingale Radio.