forestlistening.publicdatalab.org? Ways of Listening to Forests | Ways of Listening to Forests

? Ways of Listening to Forests How can we sense and make sense of forests with devices, techniques and our bodies? How might we cultivate an interdisciplinary arts of noticing” (Tsing) for attending to forests and their role in critical zones? Engaging with themes in the Critical Zones exhibition and catalogue curated by Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel , this project explores different ways of listening to forests, drawing on different traditions, techniques, methods, media and approaches – from Shinrin Yoku” (forest bathing) to sensing devices, data sonification to sound walks and storytelling. The project includes a public workshop with ZKM as part of the Critical Zones exhibition to explore and compare different approaches and the possibilities and limits of forest experiences under current sensing conditions between immediacy and mediation. For more on the use of digital data and devices to cultivate sensibilities towards trees and forests, see the Critical Zones field book and catalogue , including this chapter on The Datafication of Forests” . Sound Sketch - Forest Rain - Liz K. Miller ? Four Modes of Forest Listening ⚠️ The following audio sequences are part of a prototype for testing and feedback that will be further refined, developed and produced after the workshop with ZKM. We have curated a series of audio sequences exploring four different modes: forest bathing field recording sonification storytelling Each sequence contains a brief introduction followed by several exercises, practices or projects for you to explore. These are intended to be listened to in a forest, park or garden, and can be done individually or in a group. Our aim was to produce an audio piece which could be either undertaken in one listening session (of around 90-120 minutes) or in a series of separate listening sessions. ? Download Download zip file of all files from Internet Archive Download files separately from the Internet Archive Download folder on Google Drive ? Stream Stream on SoundCloud These four sequences are intended as an entry-point to begin exploring forest listening. They are intended to be illustrative, not comprehensive. We’re keen to include other kinds of projects and practices in future phases of the project beyond these approaches (and if you have suggestions they’d be very welcome ). ? What are the four sequences? The first sequence explores forest bathing and contains a series of exercises gathered from guides, books and workshops. The second sequence explores field recording and contains works from Liz K. Miller , Andrés Saenz de Sicilia and Brian House . The third sequence explores sonification and contains works from Marcus Maeder , Kate Donovan , Martin Howse , Lauren Oakes and Nik Sawe . The fourth sequence explores storytelling and contains works from Richard Powers , Anagram , the Visual Methodologies Collective and Brian Harnetty . ❓ How can I provide thoughts, feedback or suggestions? We’re very interested in hearing about your experiences of forest listening, these sequences and how we might further develop and improve the project. On thinking along with these modes of forest listening you may consider: What does it mean to listen to forests? What is forest listening according to these projects and practices? How do different practices guide and shape your attention to trees and forests in different ways? What do you notice? What is missing or absent? What new or unfamiliar perspectives do they bring? What can you learn from comparing or combining them? How and to what ends might these listening practices be re-specified, modified and re-assembled? On the project, we’re interested in feedback on things like: How did you find the sound segments? What other projects or practices we could add (whether to audio sequences or to the forest listening index below)? Would you consider doing this again? Would you be willing to explore and try out future things from this project? You can share your thoughts with this form or send us an email (and suggest new projects to add here ). ? How can I get them onto my device? For outdoor listening excursions you may wish to load the audio sequences onto your phone or other device (e.g. MP3 player). On iOS devices you could download and play using a music app of your choice (e.g. the default "Music" player), a podcast player (e.g. Pocket Casts ) or you could use an audiobook app like the free/open-source BookPlayer which enables files to be imported . On Android devices you could download the files onto your phone and play using your default music app (as configured in "Settings""Apps") or you could use a podcast player (e.g. Pocket Casts ). ? Forest Listening Index Further projects, practices, readings and resources on forest listening. If you have a suggestion for a project to add, you can fill in this form . ??‍♀️ Forest Bathing A Shinrin-yoku Virtual Forest Bathing Walk on The High Line by Brooke Mellen - "The episode starts us off by leaving Brooke’s apartment in a busy high rise mid-town neighborhood, full of construction noises and stress and when it ends, we’ll be feeling relaxed and in touch with the sounds of birdsong amongst the birch trees down in the historic meatpacking district at the south end of the High Line." Forest bathing 360 videos - "360-degree forest bathing video playlist from Forestry England" ? Field Recording Autumn Walk Soundscape Generator - "This invigorating ambiance was recorded in the Geographic Arboretum of Tervuren, a Belgian botanical garden composed of trees from the temperate climate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The sounds of wind are created and shaped by its obstacles, and – on a windy day – the Arboretum is a great place to record a variety of sounds." Ecosounds from QUT Ecoacoustics Research Group - "Ecosounds is a repository of environmental audio recordings. This website facilitates the management, access, visualization, and analysis of environmental acoustic data." Edge of the Forest - "Antoine Bertin weaves together field recordings and sonifications of data he collects around the world. Wandering in its own meditative way on the edge of science, technology and sound, the radio show explores where forests begin and when they end." Field Recordings in the forest of Colombia by Lucrecia Dalt & Aaron Dilloway - "This is a selection of field recordings realized during the artist residency in Guachalito located on the pacific coast of Colombia hosted by Más Arte Más Acción with the support of Goethe Institut Colombia." Forest Listening Blog by Liz K. Miller - "This blog is dedicated to the sounds of forests and woodlands in the UK, and the visual artwork generated from this listening and field recording practice. I am using listening as a method for re-connection with the woodland environment, and field recording to gather an audio archive of vibrations and resonances from within forest processes such as transpiration, decomposition and water saturation." Forest Mixer - "create your own forest audio background with birds, creeks and rivers, trees waving in the wind, soft rain falling on the leafy canopy, and all kinds of forest and rainforest related sounds." Fragments of Extinction - "Fragments of Extinction is an environmental sound-art project, which explores the eco-acoustic complexity of the remaining intact equatorial forests." Instruments in Trees by Cheryl E. Leonard - "Instruments in Trees is a semi-composed/semi-improvised work for arboreal materials and upside-down string quartet (two cellos, viola, and violin). Sticks, twigs, leaves, needles, pinecones, bark, and lichen are cultivated as sound sources in a performance that investigates cycles and processes inherent to trees." Listening to Forests - "Led by WWF in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico, the study employed a technique called acoustic monitoring to analyse the impacts of timber harvesting on biodiversity. Researchers placed cell phones in the forest to pick...