Summer School Online Session 6

Photos: Screenshots from the different projects presented

On May 23, 2024, we had our sixth and last online summer school session. The session was co-hosted between Pete Batchelor and me. The session was divided into two parts.

• *Videos: In the first part of the session, we watched the videos that the summer school participants sent in advance. The brief of the video was:

You are expected to produce a 3-minute video in advance about your project. This can take the form of a lighting talk.

• Group discussion: Apart from the team’s feedback in written format that we sent after the session, we had a live group discussion with the option to use Discord channels for each project to collect live feedback.

3-minute videos

For the lineup, we used again the random tool List Randomizer from Random.org. Next, we present a summary of the ten projects and the video that includes the presentations.

Sound Gardening at Alice Holt by Jordan Juras

Jordan Juras’s Sound Gardening is a conceptual framework to create immersive and interactive AR audio installations. This project explores the creation of embodied musical instruments, which animate and position trees and other Floral entities and are modulated by environmental sensor data collected by Alice Holt Forest Research Station.

Tree Museum by Ed Chivers

Ed Chivers’s Tree Museum is a piece that focuses on the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, whose population has declined by 91% since 1967, and is on the UK’s red list for endangered species. The sound of the woodpecker’ drumming is reproduced artificially in the trees, considering the sounds that are lost when we loose a species.

A tree listens to itself by Miles Scharff

Miles Scharff’s A tree listens to itself is a system in which a tree and the space around it are used as antenna for radio reception in an effort to listen to what electromagnetic signals are physically permeating through the natural world. The received signals are heard through speakers placed about the roots of the tree.

Resonant Grove by Austin Blanton

Austin Blanton’s Resonant Grove is based on a tree with a tangle of wires and copper that is spouting noises from its trunk, inviting you to explore the mystery. As you move your hand closer, the sounds mutate, and activate invisible threads to other noisemakers in the forest.

Within and Between by Rosa Sungjoo Park

Rosa Sungjoo Park’s Within and Between is an interactive sound installation that explores the interconnectedness of humans and the environment. The audience is invited to intervene in their natural surroundings by interacting with the installation through their own playful gestures.

tread(LIGHTLY) by Gabrielle Cerberville

Gabrielle Cerberville’s tread(LIGHTLY) is an installation that takes the form of a labyrinth built into the forest floor, triggered by human activities. The phrase “tread lightly” refers to being cautious, taking care, thinking before acting, and the labyrinth is designed to make us aware of how we move through natural environments by sonifying and amplifying human movements.

Remembering the Mighty Oak by Kate Anderson

Kate Anderson’s Remembering the Mighty Oak is a sculptural reliquary to great oak trees. Constructed with oak and decorated with ink illustrations. Echoing the loss of the Elm in the 1970s, and the decline of the Ash this century, it invites the audience to consider a future where the Nation’s Oaks are no more.

The Walking Tree by Bardia Hafizi

Bardia Hafizi’s The Walking Tree is a multi-modal installation/performance that traces the kinship of people and trees, of cities and forests: Bardia’s work investigates the technological boundaries between the two, and tries to re-imagine them through sonic -as well as other forms of- media.

Leaves Echo by Qianyi Rose Sun

In Qianyi Rose Sun’s Leaves Echo, every interaction is a testament to the balance of our ecosystem. It challenges us to perceive the unseen, to hear the unspoken, and to understand the delicate interplay between our actions and the natural world.

In touch by Beccy Abraham

Beccy Abraham’s in touch uses a collaborative musical instrument to build soundscapes with forest recordings as source material. It encourages visitors to connect with their environment by connecting with each other.

Group discussion

Pete and Hazel led a group discussion after watching the videos. They praised the diverse range of ideas and plans with brilliant videos with nice titles showing useful, interesting approaches. In the group discussion, there were both general and specific questions related to the projects.

One important topic was the logistics surrounding the weather. In particular, would water have an impact on Austin’s use of copper plating and the way of playing the plates? It was also mentioned that connections between trees imply long distances, which should be considered in terms of cabling and the system’s design.

It was suggested that Kate could speak with the team at Forest Research to see whether Kate’s findings can affect decision-making about how the national forests are managed.

In the videos, little was mentioned about the online presence of the installations, which it is recommended to start thinking about. For example, Jordan was talking about different times of day and year, which infers that this will likely happen over the online version of the app that Jordan is planning to release after the summer school event.

There was also a discussion about the status of the data logger and how the data will be accessed. We gave updates on the minihackathon with Mike, Luigi and me on the previous day, and the almost ready PureData patch with 15 variables. Some participants expressed interest in accessing historical data of the data logger e.g. meteorological data, which can relate to the prior existence of the data logger, but also can be produced from the customised data logger.

Another topic addressed to Bardia was that even if we are speaking about technology, he should feel completely free to include the instruments from his tradition such as the tombak and setar because there are plenty of ways to still use the historical (or even live) data and acoustic instruments.

A question that emerged is if it would be possible to take fallen branches from the forest to be used for the installation because in some places it is not allowed, which we should check with Max from Forestry England.

Overall, this session concluded six amazing online sessions to now bring our efforts to the on-site event. From now on, we will be focusing on the preparation and launch of the exhibition Your Sonic Forest on the 20th of June. Please help us spread the word and try to come if you can make it! It promises to be a unique event of its kind.

Thanks to all the summer school participants for their fantastic videos and to the team for their constant support. Special thanks to Pete for co-hosting the session. I had several unfortunate Internet dropouts throughout the session that did not allow me to participate in normal conditions, so thanks Pete for saving the session!