ABOUT
The Nature Connectedness Research Group at the University of Derby has teamed up with Yorkshire Sculpture Park, The Conservation Foundation, EarthPercent and Sounds Right – a global music initiative to recognise the value of nature – to offer a prize for original music that celebrates, collaborates and connects with nature. The Prize will help to highlight the need for a new relationship with nature and provide vital support for young creative practitioners.
Why?
From Louis Armstrong to Louis VI, and long before, people have created music and sung about their relationship with nature. But research shows that references to nature in contemporary music have decreased consistently since the 1950s. The research team at the University of Derby have also found that the connection between young people and nature dips during teenage years and takes more than a decade to recover. This matters because a close connection with nature helps the wellbeing of both people and our planet as people who are tuned into nature are more likely to care for it.
Being close to this research and always keen to explore new ways to foster nature connection, Prof. Miles Richardson had the idea for the Tune into Nature Music Prize. Music is both a great way to celebrate our relationship with nature and reach a younger age group. The partners below, who all have a deep connection to nature at their heart of their work, made it happen.
What do we mean by connection with nature?
Nature connection is about our relationship with nature – how we think about, feel about, and experience nature. When we feel very close to nature, we recognise ourselves as part of the natural world, and value our relationship with it.
The closer we get to nature, the happier we are, the more worthwhile life seems, and the more we are willing to take action to help our wildlife and the environment. In the context of the problems our climate and wildlife are facing, closer relationships with nature are more necessary than ever before.
How do we get connected?
The first simple step is to tune into nature! Research shows that a closer relationship comes through tuning into nature with our senses, responding with our emotions, appreciating beauty, celebrating meaning and activating our compassion for nature.
Find out more by reading:
A guide for increasing people’s connection with nature
Who is involved?
The Nature Connectedness Research Group at the University of Derby was created by Prof. Miles Richardson to understand and improve people’s relationship with the rest of the natural world for the wellbeing of both humans and nature. The group’s research has received a number of awards, including being honoured in the UK’s 100 Best Breakthroughs list, compiled by Universities UK, for its pioneering work looking at people’s sense of their relationship with the natural world.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP), is the UK’s leading international centre for modern and contemporary sculpture. YSP is a registered charity and an accredited museum situated in the 500-acre, 18th century Bretton Hall estate in Yorkshire. YSP mounts a year-round temporary exhibitions programme including some of the world’s leading artists across six indoor galleries and the outdoors. It is the only place in Europe to see Barbara Hepworth’s The Family of Man in its entirety, alongside sculptures by Henry Moore, Damien Hirst, Andy Goldsworthy, David Nash, and James Turrell. In 2023 YSP was awarded Visitor Attraction of the Year and Cultural Award in the Yorkshire Post Tourism Awards and awarded VisitEngland’s gold accolade in 2021-22 and 2022–23 for an outstanding visitor attraction.
The Conservation Foundation UK is a charitable organisation dedicated to environmental conservation and sustainability. Founded in 1982 by David Shreeve and David Bellamy, the foundation focuses on various initiatives aimed at preserving natural habitats, promoting environmental education, and encouraging sustainable practices. The mission of The Conservation Foundation is to engage and inspire individuals, communities, and organisations to take practical steps towards conserving the natural environment and promoting sustainability. The foundation envisions a world where natural habitats are protected, biodiversity is preserved, and sustainable practices are integrated into everyday life. Over the years, The Conservation Foundation has made significant contributions to environmental conservation in the UK. Its projects have helped to restore natural habitats, promote environmental education, and engage communities in conservation efforts. The foundation's work has been recognised for its innovative approaches and positive impact on the environment. For more information, you can visit their official website: The Conservation Foundation.
EarthPercent is the music industry’s climate foundation, co-founded by Brian Eno, working to embed planet-positive action into the music industry. EarthPercent invites those across music to pledge a percentage of income from their projects, tours and records and then works with an Expert Advisory Panel of world-leading scientists, researchers and activists to identify and fund the most impactful organisations working on the frontline of the climate and biodiversity crises. EarthPercent is a proud partner of Sounds Right, in collaboration with the Museum for the UN - UN Live.
Sounds Right is a new initiative by the Museum for the United Nations – UN Live developed and delivered in close partnership with musicians, creatives, nature sound recordists, as well as environmental, campaigning and global advocacy organisations. It is a new music initiative to recognise the value of nature, prompt conversation, raise funds for conservation through an innovative mechanism, as well as inspire millions of fans to take action.
With Sounds Right, NATURE is being registered as an artist on various music streaming platforms, owning its own nature sounds. By simply listening to a Sounds Right track – pure nature sounds or human artists featuring NATURE – fans and music lovers will directly protect the environment through a portion of royalties being disbursed to high-impact conservation initiatives.
In addition, Sounds Right works with artists to encourage millions of music listeners to take further actions to conserve nature and become fans of NATURE, from recording the dawn chorus to support biomonitoring, to creating broad scale awareness and behaviour change. It is anticipated that it will engage 600 million people across the globe and raise $40 million dollars for nature conservation.