The Induction
“A boy in Leicester with a fossil in his hand.”
Written for a hundredth birthday
“The Induction” is a tribute to Sir David Attenborough, who turned 100 on 8 May 2026. He grew up in Leicester, where his father was principal of what became the University of Leicester, and his childhood fossil-hunting on the city's clay pits and quarries is well documented in his own writing and interviews. That early habit of looking closely at the ground beneath his feet runs through nearly eight decades of broadcasting, from black and white films in the 1950s through to the BBC's 2026 series Secret Garden, made to mark his centenary.
The song treats his induction into The Leguminatis as an honorary one. He has, after all, put his name behind more rewilding and marine recovery projects than most: he backed the Help Our Kelp campaign that led to the Sussex Nearshore Trawling Byelaw, a project this album returns to on the Kelp Forest track. “You're one of us tonight” is the album's way of saying thank you.
How to become inducted into The Leguminatis
Every member finds their own way in. There is no test this time, just five small starting points, borrowed from the album's own themes. Do them in any order, at any pace.
- 1. Look closely at one thing
- Spend five minutes actually looking at something outside, a hedge, a verge, a windowsill pot, the way Attenborough once looked at a fossil in a Leicester quarry. Notice one thing you'd otherwise have walked past.
- 2. Eat a little leaf
- Add one plant food to your plate this week that you don't usually eat. The song's own instruction: “a little more from gardens, a little less from grief.”
- 3. Leave a corner alone
- Pick a small patch, a plant pot, a garden edge, a windowbox, and simply don't tidy it for a month. See what turns up on its own. It's a miniature version of what happens on the Knepp track.
- 4. Put the kettle on
- Share one fact from this album with someone else over a cup of tea. Word of mouth is how most rewilding projects actually got their start.
- 5. Begin again
- The album's closing words. Whatever step one to four looked like, do it again next week.
That's the whole induction. Welcome to The Leguminatis.