ecosystem sound restoration (old growth playback)

Ecosystem Sound Restoration is a gesture of ecological restoration through sound in impacted forest environments in Oregon. I collected field recordings that are distinctive of old growth forest that is habitat for the endangered Spotted Owl and played them back through a multi-speaker system in four nearby degraded forest sites. I recorded audio and video during the playback at all four sites: a homogenous plantation of Doug Fir trees, a burned patch of old growth forest, and two selectively logged sites. Ecosystem Sound Restoration also includes recordings of litterfall hitting the forest floor; the resilience of seeds that fell to the ground long ago is vital for ecological succession.

This work is meant as reminder of the sounds that were, as an honoring of the sounds that are now present, and a welcoming of the future sounds that can come with ecological succession:: new species matrices that will be hybrid environments of resilient species, new additions, and ghosts of species lost.

Ecosystem Sound Restoration is inspired by recently published research where sounds of a healthy coral reef were projected in a degraded reef ecosystem and species that normally are limited to healthy reefs returned in response to these sonic beacons.

This work was produced while in residency with the Long Term Ecological Reflections program at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon with the Spring Creek Project, and edited and mixed at EMPAC in Goodman/Studio 1 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

ENTER HERE:

https://hubs.mozilla.com/A9vbWnk/glorious-rewarding-conclave

suggestions for experiencing mozilla hubs:

  1. wear headphones or use good speakers

  2. walk around using the arrow keys

  3. turn right or left by using “q” and “e”

  4. use HUBS on a laptop or desktop — it doesn’t work very well on a phone