Nocturne: Moon Meadow at Forest of Imagination, Bath 2026
Updated: Oct 1
Nocturne returned to the wonderful Forest of Imagination arts and nature festival in Bath, after debuting here in 2025. This time the 'nature by night' theme explored nocturnal biodiversity and ideas to nurture moths in our own gardens and green spaces.
As part of the 'River of Dreams' installations flowing down Entry Hill towards the city, 'Nocturne: Moon Meadow' enabled visitors to experience the site after dark. In collaboration with Madeleine Bell from Bloomingbells Gardens, we built a giant moon moth trap in the woods and gave away 2,000 moon meadow seeds to participants.
As the finale event of the opening night, after a community feast, speeches and performances, a crowd of over 50 were led by torchlight to a structure built by Architecture students from Bath Spa University.
Gathering in the falling darkness, bats swooped above our heads while we listened to nocturnal music and talked about how we use night.
Madeleine told us about declining nocturnal biodiversity and what we can do to encourage moths in our own gardens and community spaces. More information on this, and how to create your own moon meadow at home, can be found from Butterfly Conservation:
By now it was fully dark. Participants reflected on their favourite memories of night while we listed to Chopin's Nocturnes and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, writing them down and slipping them into glowing jars. These were shared and talked about together – beautiful visions of stars in the Sahara desert, dancing around campfires, strolling past scented jasmine on the way to a moonlit pub on the beach...
Making a memory into an object, which can be held, looked at and passed around brought a new way of remembering. Nocturne events aim to inspire people to remember the magic of being out in nature at night.
“River of Dreams is an invitation to imagine together in nature. Through creative making, conversation and shared experiences, the whole community is invited to explore new possibilities for Entry Hill and help shape a collective vision for Forest of Imagination as a permanent Art, Nature and Community Park.” Dr Penny Hay, Professor of Imagination, Bath Spa University, co-founder, Forest of Imagination
With thanks to Penny Hay, Grant Associates, Bath Spa University, BANES and Arts University Bournemouth https://aub.ac.uk/
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