Singing with Nightingales Special: Brainwaves & Birdsong

In collaboration with the University of Exeter's Birdsong and Brainwaves, Singing With Nightingales will be hosting a special event at Strawberry Hill, focused on the impact of birdsong on chronic pain.

21st May 2026 – Strawberry Hill, Bedfordshire

On 21st May 2026, Singing with Nightingales will host a specially adapted evening at Strawberry Hill in Bedfordshire for people living with chronic pain. This unique gathering, Brainwaves & Birdsong, has been created in collaboration with Brainwaves & Birdsong, founded by Dr. Sam Hughes at the University of Exeter. The event forms part of an ongoing research project exploring how listening and connection with nature may shape the lived experience of chronic pain.

The evening will be free to attend.

Unlike our standard events, the pace of this gathering will be gentler. There will be additional seating, rest breaks, and thoughtful adjustments woven throughout the night to support participants’ comfort and wellbeing. By attending, guests will take part in the research through questionnaires and optional follow-up conversations, helping to deepen understanding of how natural soundscapes — particularly birdsong — can influence pain perception, emotional resilience, and overall wellbeing.

A group of people are gathered around a campfire, at dusk in a nature reserve, surrounded by bunting.

Harry Mitchell

A woman plays a ukelele at a campfire while singing.

Alice Zawadski

A group of people are gathered around a campfire, at dusk at Strawberry Hill

Singing With Nightingales

About Brainwaves & Birdsong

Established in 2024 by Dr. Sam Hughes at the University of Exeter, Brainwaves & Birdsong is a public engagement collective bringing together scientists, musicians, artists, and professionals working across television and science communication. The initiative explores how natural environments affect the brain, with particular focus on chronic pain and the potential therapeutic role of sound and immersion in nature.

In 2025, Brainwaves & Birdsong was selected for the Science Futures area at Glastonbury Festival, engaging hundreds of attendees through live science-inspired artworks, immersive audiovisual experiences, virtual reality installations, panel discussions, and collaborative dialogue. The project has also been featured across regional BBC radio, national newspapers, and podcasts including the British Psychological Society and Pain Concern.

The collective’s mission is to spark new conversations between science and the creative industries, and to co-create research and engagement activities grounded in the lived experiences of people navigating chronic pain.

Why the Nightingale?

The Nightingale is not only a cultural icon but an ecological indicator. Today, there are approximately 5,500 breeding pairs remaining in the UK — a fraction of historical numbers. Habitat loss, particularly the decline of scrub and early successional woodland, has contributed to significant population reductions over recent decades.

Rewilding efforts across the South of England are beginning to restore the dense blackthorn and mixed scrub habitats that Nightingales depend upon. These habitats are dynamic and transitional, places where woodland meets meadow and biodiversity flourishes. Protecting and regenerating these landscapes is essential if the Nightingale’s song is to continue to echo across our countryside.

Strawberry Hill is one such stewarded, rewilded landscape. Managed with ecological sensitivity, this special event represents a meeting point between conservation and culture — a place where restoration work and artistic experience coexist. Here, the return of the Nightingale each spring signals not only seasonal change but the health of a carefully tended ecosystem.

Where Culture and Conservation Meet

Singing with Nightingales has long operated at the intersection of art and ecology. At its core lies a simple premise: that we cannot protect what we do not know or love. By inviting people to listen deeply and attentively to birdsong in its natural habitat, we foster emotional connection alongside ecological awareness.

Brainwaves & Birdsong extends this philosophy further. It asks how that same act of listening might influence the brain and body, particularly for those living with chronic pain. Could immersive, sensory encounters with nature offer not only beauty but measurable shifts in wellbeing? Could shared cultural experiences in rewilded spaces build resilience in ways both personal and collective?

This special evening at Strawberry Hill invites participants into that exploration.

It is an opportunity to gather gently, beneath open skies and returning song, in a landscape shaped by conservation. It is a moment where research, art, and ecological restoration converge. And it is part of a wider effort to ensure that both Nightingales and the communities who cherish them can thrive.

A Nightingale,with beak open, whilst singing, sat on a branch

Singing With Nightingales

A group of people, stood in a wooded area together, listening to birdsong

Ali Webb

A tree, at dusk time. Taken from below, with grass in the foreground.

Singing With Nightingales

To learn more about Brainwaves & Birdsong, or to express interest in collaboration, please apply here:

Apply Now

We look forward to welcoming participants to Strawberry Hill this May — where science, sound, and stewardship come together beneath the spring canopy.

To learn more about the other Singing With Nightingales events and book tickets, please visit this link:

Singing With Nightingales events at Strawberry Hill