Sounds of the Forest

 I'm still feeling the Earth Day vibe, so here's another Earth-oriented blog post. 

The International Forest Festival has been an annual event in a rural UK location for the last few years. The Festival invites participants to debate, celebrate and reflect as we rethink our relationship with trees and forests. 

Here's a video from 2019:

Unfortunately, the Festival was cancelled in 2020, so in response, the organizers invited people from around the world to share a 1-minute sound clip to be shared online. Thus was born the "Sounds of the Forest" project whereby people could connect with one another, inspire and be inspired. So far over 750 sound clips have been shared from 70 countries and every continent. They have been listened to more than 1.5 million times. 

Rowan Cannon and Sarah Bird, partners with the National Forest Company in creating the Timber Festival said, 

We're beyond thrilled with how many recordings have been contributed from forests and woodlands all over the world and the extraordinary level of global engagement. The sounds form an open-source library, to be used by anyone to listen to and create from. They have provided a source of meditation for many and been used as a source of inspiration for art and music for others. 

We are living in a world filled with uncertainty and we believe the natural world offers much reassurance and constancy. Sounds of the Forest has encouraged people to go to their local woodlands and forests and take time to stop, listen and record the harmonies of nature, then upload these online. Hopefully it has shown the unifying power of nature, it has transported thousands of us to forests around the world. In a time where we are physically isolated the project has provided hope and connection.

Forests are resilient, adaptive, multi-faceted and offer us real hope that we can find a way through this crisis.

We would never have anticipated how compelling and inspiring it would be to sit in our homes during these strange and uncertain times and to be transported, to a forest say, in Panama, Montreal or Hong Kong. It's been the most amazing thing, feeling so connected whilst so distanced.

Timber Festival 2021 is planned to go ahead at the site in Feanedock, UK where participants will be camping, glamping, singing, dancing and even watching magic shows and comedy routines. 

Ascension Dance

Horn Dance

Maypole Dancing

Most of us will not be able to attend this awesome-looking event, July 2,3 and 4, 2021, so in the meantime, head over to Forest Sounds to choose a forest or woodland to enjoy. On the Forest Sounds page you will find links to the top 10 sounds across the UK as well as the top 10 sounds in the rest of the world. You'll be able to hear the first cuckoo of the season at Feanedock, site of the Forest Festival or the howls of lemurs in Madagascar. 

If you prefer you can visit the Sounds of the Forest Soundmap HERE to choose where in the world you would like to place your ear 😊

In the meantime, embed yourself into the forest at the Eden Project in Cornwall:

wild_rumpus · Eden Project - dawn chorus