Listening requires patience and stillness. The environments we live and hear in often change throughout the day. How often do we deeply listen to our environment and how much do we hear?

​

First “walk.listen.record” sound workshop series was at Garden City Community Park in Richmond, unceded, traditional territories of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nation on Saturday, June 25th. Garden City Community Park is a 23.76 acre park that features a lake, playground and an arboretum. There are numerous walking trails throughout the park, including around the perimeter of the lake and over it via a large bridge. These routes offer many scenic vantage points along with seating and picnicking opportunities.The park also includes a number of special features, including a bike terrain park, and an arboretum with nearly 100 tree species from around the Pacific Rim.

For the sound walk workshop, we gathered in the parking lot which was the starting point to our walk. We walked into the park and we found a picnic table where we sat. Workshop started with  an introduction to the project and workshop. Each participant introduced themselves and shared why they were interested in this workshop. After a brief introduction to soundscape and microphones, participants started to explore the park and record the sound. During the workshop, participants experienced soundscapes through field microphones while walking. They had a chance to listen to their environment more closely. It was a slow paste walk with many stops. Through the walk we heard the sound of birds, traffic, airplanes and children.

After this hands-on recording, participants shared their experiences and stories.

You can experience the park by watching digital stories in 360 environments that were created with recorded sound in the workshop with participants’ permission. Thank you, Sue, Cynthia, Andrea, Sashi and Atishri for joining the workshop and sharing your experiences and stories.

 

Digital stories;
“Quiet Room” Atishri, 9 years old participant, shares her experiences hearing the sound closely for the first time and a story she heard about the quiet room.  Sue tells us “how beautiful nature sounds”.
“Sound of Children” Andrea shares her memory of being a single mom.
“Noise” Cynthia shares her memory of visiting her hometown in China.
“Ravens” Shari shares her memories remembering her mom feeding the ravens.