A unique national music competition designed to celebrate nature and inspire hope has announced its winners for 2025.

The Tune into Nature Music Prize, founded by Prof. Miles Richardson from the University of Derby, is designed to highlight the need for a new, “stronger” relationship with nature while supporting young creative talent.

The project welcomed entries from unsigned musicians and singer-songwriters aged 18-30, whose original work demonstrates a “true collaboration” with nature, including sounds of the natural world. 

Two entrants, of very different styles, impressed the judges so much that they awarded the prize jointly. The first winning track, Dawn, by Josephine Illingworth (pictured below) was made up of sounds she collected over several weeks of sleeping alone in mountain huts across the Dolomites. Its lyrics are taken from entries left in the guestbooks of these huts by past visitors, with Illingworth describing it as “a tapestry of the memories and experiences taking place across the mountains, and a call for us to see life and movement in things we may think are silent”.

The second winning track, Nightingale, by Wildforms – aka Dan Cippico (pictured, below) – turned the mesmeric song of a nightingale into a drum n bass track. “I’m excited that the interplay of nature and music is being celebrated by a prize such as this,” said Cippico.

Nine other artists were shortlisted, including from hip-hop, rock and pop to jazz, folk and classical.

The BBC supported the shortlisting and judging process with expertise from its music teams, presenters and BBC Introducing. The final tracks were previewed across BBC Radio networks, including Radio 1, 6 Music and Radio 3, which devoted a special edition of Unclassified to featuring the winners and shortlisted artists, with further airplay of track excerpts planned on Radio 2.

The creative initiative responds to research that shows the decline of nature connection among teenagers as well as data that shows the reference to nature in contemporary music has decreased consistently since the 1950s.

“Our research has found that the relationship between young people and nature dips during teenage years and takes more than a decade to recover,” says Prof. Richardson.

We constantly hear about the climate and biodiversity crises, but fostering hope and forging a new bond with nature is part of the solution

“This is a concern, as we know a close relationship with nature helps our mental wellbeing, and those who are more tuned into nature are more likely to care for it. Given the context of the problems our climate and wildlife are facing, a closer relationship with nature is more necessary than ever before.

“We constantly hear about the climate and biodiversity crises, but fostering hope and forging a new bond with nature is part of the solution. The entrants of the Tune into Nature Music Prize exemplify this, offering music that not only celebrates but also inspires hope through our connection with the natural world.”

Find out more at www.tuneintonaturemusicprize.info

Photography: Tune into Nature