Singer-songwriter teams up with Leamington community woodland to create nature and lockdown songs

A singer-songwriter has teamed up with Foundry Wood in Leamington to write a brand new set of songs about nature and lockdown.

The songs will have their world premiere on Facebook Live on Friday (October 2) at 7pm in an event called 'Nature Under Lock(down) and Key (Change)'.

Last month, John Hinton sent out a questionnaire asking for people to tell him about their experiences of nature during lockdown.

John also visited Foundry Wood, and took part in a few socially distanced community events, including the Ecotherapy sessions, where he discussed the themes with the participants.

He said the response he got was phenomenal, and many of the recounted experiences have gone directly into the songs.

John said: “I was overcome with the sense of how important nature has been to people during this difficult time.

“People have connected with the natural world in unique and highly unexpected ways.

"Two respondents mentioned that they’d kept pet caterpillars and watched them turn into butterflies, for example; others made friends with birds, frogs and even spiders; and several mentioned ways in which connecting with nature over lockdown had helped them overcome depression, alcoholism and heartache.”

Despite the sometimes heavy theme, John insists that the songs are “funny and refreshing”.

He said: “Humour can be found in the strangest of places – even at the heart of a pandemic – and can sometimes be the best way of reflecting on uncomfortable subjects.”

The Facebook Live event will be taking place on the Foundry Wood Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FoundryWoodCommunityWoodland/ on Friday October

2 at 7pm, and will last about half an hour.

The songs will be released as an album later in the month.

For an idea of how John has previously turned facts into comedy music, search for “Ensonglopedia” on Yout Tube, which is his science songwriting project.