The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
UK chirping up to highlight bird population fall
Venues will come alive to the sound of birdsong to highlight UK problem
The V&A Dundee is one of a series of buildings across the UK which will come alive with the sound of birdsong tomorrow.
Train stations, public buildings, sports venues and Co-op stores are all taking part in the day of action organised by the RSPB.
The charity is bringing the sound of birds singing to an estimated five million people around the country to raise awareness of falls in the country’s bird populations and what the UK stands to lose if the declines continue.
It comes as polling for the RSPB reveals high levels of support among the British public for the government to prioritise tackling climate change and environmental problems.
Among 18 to 44-year-olds, climate change and the environment came out top in terms of what people would like to see the government address as their long-term legacy.
And among UK adults as a whole, climate change and the environment were in the top three, with 38% naming it as a priority, beating Britain’s future relationship with the EU (36%) and coming in behind only health on 44%.
Almost three-fifths of people believe nature in the UK is in crisis or not doing well, the poll of more than 4,000 people by YouGov found.
After scoring a surprise top 20 music hit with a track of birdsong Let Nature Sing in the summer, the RSPB has teamed up with partners to bring the sound of birds to more than 5,000 locations across the UK.
They include BT Murrayfield and Hampden Park as well as the V&A Dundee.
All Co-op stores will also be playing birdsong.
BT call centres in Swansea and Cardiff will play birdsong to their teams throughout the day and Barratt Homes will be changing their hold music to the sound of singing birds.
On the transport network, London Underground stations, all Translink rail stations in Northern Ireland and half a dozen Transport for Wales railway stations will be taking part.
Rebecca Munro, the RSPB’s director of communications, said: “Earlier this year Let Nature Sing got the public talking about what birdsong means to them and the shocking fact that the UK has lost over 40 million birds in just half a century.
“We all need birdsong in our daily life, but our natural world is in crisis, our wildlife is falling silent.”
She said recent international reports delivered concerning findings on the state of the natural world and impacts of climate change, while the most recent “state of nature” report revealed half the UK’s bird species are at risk.