DIÁLOGOS is an acoustic dialogue with a Eucalyptus tree created for the international symposium DIÁLOGOS ~ MENTE DE LAS :|: DAS PLANTAS. The work is based on a recording from the perspective of a Eucalyptus tree on Kabi Kabi Country on the Sunshine Coast. Hydrophones were planted at the roots of the tree recording the sonic environment and Monica Gagliano's voice while she read excerpts from her book 'Thus Spoke the Plant' through the tree. Cellist Briony Luttrell improvised live responses to the sonic environment and added further dialogue with the processed Eucalyptus recordings. 

DIÁLOGOS is inspired by Thus Spoke the Plant in transcending the view of plants as the objects of scientific materialism, and encouraging us to rethink plants as beings with subjectivity, consciousness, and volition, and hence having the capacity for their own perspectives, voices and dialogues. This project is part of an emerging portfolio of interdisciplinary research at USC Sunshine Coast exploring the role of sound in regeneration and ecological interconnection. 

This soundscape is created as a prelude to the participatory photography session where delegates are encouraged to go outside and take photos of plants to contribute towards a global photography map that extends on the participatory photography research led by Tricia King.

DIÁLOGOS ~ MENTE DE LAS :|: DAS PLANTAS is an international symposium hosted on July 8th 2021 on the Arts Front platform that focuses on Latin American contributions from the forthcoming book The Mind of Plants https://www.themindofplants.com/ The symposium features stories, reflections, images and sounds about our relationship with plants. The event is generously supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), and Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra.

Monica Gagliano - https://www.monicagagliano.com/ 
Briony Luttrell - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-briony-luttrell 
Leah Barclay - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay

DIÁLOGOS ~ MENTE DE LAS :|: DAS PLANTAS - https://artsfront.com/event/133485-dialogos-mente-de-las-das-plantas

The Mind of Plants - https://www.themindofplants.com/

DIÁLOGOS (2021) Eucalyptus, Monica Gagliano, Briony Luttrell and Leah Barclay

During National Science Week 2018 ABC Classic FM profiled six experts who explored the many ways music and science connect.

In this interview, ABC presenter Vanessa Hughes explores the intersections of music and science with Australian composer and acoustic ecologist Dr Leah Barclay 

Original Interview (National Science Week ABC Classic FM): 
https://www.abc.net.au/classic/classic-drive/interview-leah-barclay-makes-music-from-the-environment/10129522  

ABC Classic FM National Science Week: meet our guests
https://www.abc.net.au/classic/features/national-science-week-guests/10107832  

Making Music from the Environment - National Science Week Feature https://www.abc.net.au/classic/features/national-science-week-making-music-from-the-environment/10118814

National Science Week - ABC Classic Drive Interview - Leah Barclay

Listening to Country: Exploring the value of acoustic ecology with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison.

The aim of ‘Listening to Country’ is to explore the value of acoustic ecology in promoting cultural connection, maintenance and wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison. In early 2019, an interdisciplinary team of researchers worked with women in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC) to produce a 1-hour immersive audio work based on field recordings of natural environments (of country) for the purpose of stress relief and relaxation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are overrepresented in Australian prisons. The majority are mothers, experiencing the trauma associated with separation from family, community and country. 

‘Listening to Country’ represents an innovative and creative approach to promoting cultural maintenance and wellbeing among mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties and grandmothers in prison. The research use principles and processes from acoustic ecology, Indigenous storywork, dadirri (deep active listening), and arts-led inquiry to explore notions of cultural connection and maintenance for the participants, and the effects of the project on their wellbeing.

This project responds to a direct request from a group of Aboriginal women at BWCC to create a culturally appropriate sound recording for the purpose of reducing stress and connecting to natural environments and to country. It has been built on a strong foundation of previous creative engagement and consultation with women incarcerated in Queensland. The project team consists of two Aboriginal and two non-Aboriginal researchers working in collaboration. Dr Vicki Saunders (Gunggari) is an emerging scholar who works using arts-led and poetic enquiry in the field of child protection and family wellbeing. Dr Bianca Beetson (Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi) is a visual artist and curator, and Director of the Contemporary Indigenous Art Program at Griffith University. Dr Sarah Woodland has been developing creative arts-based approaches to wellbeing in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC) for the past seven years, recently finding radio drama, audio recording and soundscape to be highly effective in engaging the women. Dr Leah Barclay is a sound artist whose work investigates the value of acoustic ecology as a socially engaged, accessible, interdisciplinary field that can inspire communities across the world to listen to the environment. This team is supported by an advisory group that includes members of the Brisbane Council of Elders, Dr Claire Walker, (Director of the Murri Dhagun cultural unit of Queensland Corrective Services) and criminology expert Professor Andrew Day from James Cook University.

The pilot project in BWCC has enabled the researchers to develop and hone this approach to wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison. It is anticipated that the ‘Listening to Country’ model might be transferable into a number of different wellbeing contexts, including with at-risk youth, Elders/seniors in care or off-country, women transitioning from prison to the community and more. The pilot will inform further development of the approach with additional groups in the community, with capacity development and knowledge translation activities occurring in Mitchell, Sunshine Coast and Cherbourg, Queensland to explore these possibilities in 2019.

This soundscape is a short excerpt from the 1-hr immersive audio work produced with the women during the pilot phase in prison in early 2019.

Visit the website for further details: www.listeningtocountry.com

Listening to Country (soundscape excerpt)

Short sample from a live stream in the Brisbane River on May 20, 2019 for the River Listening streaming research project. This was a streaming experiment with different hydrophone placement and stream settings. 

The sounds include snapping shrimp, grunting fish and passing CityCats (boats). The hydrophones are 2.5m deep and 3.5m apart. 

Equipment: 
- Aquarian Scientific AS-1 Hydrophones x 2 
- Zoom H5 (acting as an iOS audio interface) 
- iPhone 7 running the LocusCast app 

The stream was hosted live on the Locus Sonus Sound Map on May 20, 2019: http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/

Freshwater Hydrophone Live Stream – Brisbane River Excerpt

Listen to the sounds beneath the surface of the Brisbane River flowing through the city with a chorus of snapping shrimp, passing boats and curious fish tapping on the hydrophones. This is a short excerpt from a live stream at 7am AEST on July 18, 2019. 

‘Listening with Three Rivers’ is a global live stream with hydrophones in the Brisbane River, Noosa River and Mary River in Queensland, Australia for World Listening Day 2019. The project is broadcasting 90-minute underwater soundscapes at various times across four days including dawn and dusk to capture the diversity of freshwater ecology. 

World Listening Day is an annual global event held every July 18. Since its inception in 2010, dozens of organisations and thousands of people from six continents have participated in World Listening Day. This year’s theme is ‘LISTENING WITH’ created by internationally acclaimed sound artist Annea Lockwood. “Listening with the neighbourhood at midnight, and again at dawn. Listening with an awareness that all around you are other life-forms simultaneously listening and sensing with you – plant roots, owls, cicadas, voles – mutually intertwined within the web of vibrations which animate and surround our planet.”

River Listening is an interdisciplinary research project exploring the possibilities of freshwater ecoacoustics in the conservation and management of global river systems. The project works at the intersection of art and science by investigating the cultural and biological diversity of freshwater ecosystems, through real-time listening and underwater recording used for biodiversity monitoring and public engagement. We use non-invasive recording techniques with accessible hydrophone kits and participatory workshops to engage local communities in the process and outcomes.

Live Stream Excerpt [BRISBANE, DAWN] ‘Listening with Three Rivers’ #WLD2019

Listen to the sounds beneath the surface of the Brisbane River flowing through the city with a chorus of snapping shrimp, passing boats and curious fish tapping on the hydrophones. This is a short excerpt from a dusk live stream at 5pm AEST on July 18, 2019.

‘Listening with Three Rivers’ is a global live stream with hydrophones in the Brisbane River, Noosa River and Mary River in Queensland, Australia for World Listening Day 2019. The project is broadcasting 90-minute underwater soundscapes at various times across four days including dawn and dusk to capture the diversity of freshwater ecology.

World Listening Day is an annual global event held every July 18. Since its inception in 2010, dozens of organisations and thousands of people from six continents have participated in World Listening Day. This year’s theme is ‘LISTENING WITH’ created by internationally acclaimed sound artist Annea Lockwood. “Listening with the neighbourhood at midnight, and again at dawn. Listening with an awareness that all around you are other life-forms simultaneously listening and sensing with you – plant roots, owls, cicadas, voles – mutually intertwined within the web of vibrations which animate and surround our planet.”

River Listening is an interdisciplinary research project exploring the possibilities of freshwater ecoacoustics in the conservation and management of global river systems. The project works at the intersection of art and science by investigating the cultural and biological diversity of freshwater ecosystems, through real-time listening and underwater recording used for biodiversity monitoring and public engagement. We use non-invasive recording techniques with accessible hydrophone kits and participatory workshops to engage local communities in the process and outcomes.

Live Stream Excerpt [BRISBANE, DUSK] ‘Listening with Three Rivers’ #WLD2019

Listen to the sounds beneath the surface of the Noosa River. This is a short excerpt from a morning live stream at 10am AEST on July 19, 2019.

‘Listening with Three Rivers’ is a global live stream with hydrophones in the Brisbane River, Noosa River and Mary River in Queensland, Australia for World Listening Day 2019. The project is broadcasting 90-minute underwater soundscapes at various times across four days including dawn and dusk to capture the diversity of freshwater ecology.

World Listening Day is an annual global event held every July 18. Since its inception in 2010, dozens of organisations and thousands of people from six continents have participated in World Listening Day. This year’s theme is ‘LISTENING WITH’ created by internationally acclaimed sound artist Annea Lockwood. “Listening with the neighbourhood at midnight, and again at dawn. Listening with an awareness that all around you are other life-forms simultaneously listening and sensing with you – plant roots, owls, cicadas, voles – mutually intertwined within the web of vibrations which animate and surround our planet.”

River Listening is an interdisciplinary research project exploring the possibilities of freshwater ecoacoustics in the conservation and management of global river systems. The project works at the intersection of art and science by investigating the cultural and biological diversity of freshwater ecosystems, through real-time listening and underwater recording used for biodiversity monitoring and public engagement. We use non-invasive recording techniques with accessible hydrophone kits and participatory workshops to engage local communities in the process and outcomes.

Live Stream Excerpt [NOOSA RIVER, 10am] ‘Listening with Three Rivers’ #WLD2019

Interview with Jess Ong on ABC Radio Darwin ahead of Leah Barclay's presentation on River Listening and Ecoacoustics at the 2019 Territory Natural Resource Management (TNRM) Conference, 12 - 14 November 2019, in Darwin. 
https://www.tnrmconference.org.au/

ABC Radio Darwin Interview with Leah Barclay on Sunday Morning with Jess Ong

Listen to the Canopy Live Stream: http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/ 

The Rainforest Canopy live stream is situated in Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve - 55 hectares of subtropical rainforest overlooking the Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. A remnant of the rainforests that once covered the Blackall Range, the reserve is a living museum of diverse plant and animal life.

The reserve consists of subtropical rainforest across an area of 530,000 square metres and reaches a peak canopy of 440m. Plants found in the reserve include 107 species of tree, 30 herbs, 50 vines, 3 palms, 21 species of fungi and 26 kinds of shrubs. Animals include 139 birds including the wompoo fruit-dove, brown cuckoo-dove, tree-creepers, thornbills, scrub-wrens, green catbird as well as 11 different marsupials, bats, lizards, snakes and 14 frog species.

The stream launched in March 2019 as part of the Mary Cairncross Reserve BioBlitz. The BioBlitz program celebrated rainforest biodiversity with never-before-seen perspectives of the rainforest reserve captured and shared. This live stream is used for biodiversity monitoring, environmental education, public education and is part of the annual Reveil broadcast for International Dawn Chorus Day.

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is situated on Jinibara country. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve – Dawn Chorus (Sample from the Rainforest Canopy Live Stream)

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve – Night Soundscapes (Sample from the Rainforest Canopy Live Stream)

This is documentation of a live stream from the Maroochy River for Horizon Festival for the project Listening in the Wild. 

Listening in the Wild is a series of immersive soundscapes exploring environments across the Sunshine Coast produced live and streamed online for listeners to engage with at home. These experiences are created by artists Lyndon Davis, Leah Barclay and Tricia King as transient listening experiences interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories. Listening in the Wild comprises three separate experiences, streamed live online and also available post event for audiences to access anywhere at any time. The locations include virtual sound walks through Eudlo Creek National Park, a journey along the Maroochy River and an ocean expedition from Mooloolaba Beach. Each soundscape is accompanied by site-specific photography captured by Sunshine Coast based documentary photographer Tricia King.

This is a deep listening experience with binaural 3D soundscapes that are best experienced with headphones. ​We encourage you to close your eyes, put your headphones on and lie down somewhere quiet to listen.

Listen to the live streams – www.listeninginthewild.com 

Horizon Festival – https://www.horizonfestival.com.au/event/listening-in-the-wild
Lyndon Davis - https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/news-media/deadly-stories/deadly-stories-gallery/north-coast/lyndon-davis
Leah Barclay - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay
Tricia King - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/tricia-king

This project is supported by the School of Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

LISTENING IN THE WILD - MAROOCHY RIVER (LIVE STREAM, 12 JULY 2020)

This is documentation of a live stream from Eudlo Creek for Horizon Festival for the project 'Listening in the Wild' featuring the voices of Lyndon Davis and Brent Miller from Gubbi Gubbi Dance.  

Listening in the Wild is a series of immersive soundscapes exploring environments across the Sunshine Coast produced live and streamed online for listeners to engage with at home. These experiences are created by artists Lyndon Davis, Leah Barclay and Tricia King as transient listening experiences interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories. Listening in the Wild comprises three separate experiences, streamed live online and also available post event for audiences to access anywhere at any time. The locations include virtual sound walks through Eudlo Creek National Park, a journey along the Maroochy River and an ocean expedition from Mooloolaba Beach. Each soundscape is accompanied by site-specific photography captured by Sunshine Coast based documentary photographer Tricia King.

This is a deep listening experience with binaural soundscapes that are best experienced with headphones. ​We encourage you to close your eyes, put your headphones on and lie down somewhere quiet to listen.

Listen to the live streams – www.listeninginthewild.com

Horizon Festival – https://www.horizonfestival.com.au/event/listening-in-the-wild
Lyndon Davis - https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/news-media/deadly-stories/deadly-stories-gallery/north-coast/lyndon-davis 
Leah Barclay - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay 
Tricia King - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/tricia-king
This project is supported by the School of Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

The Eudlo Creek edition of Listening in the Wild builds on work started in 2019 as part of the Eudlo Creek Project – a creative initiative that responds to the cultural and biological diversity of Eudlo Creek and its interconnected wetlands and rainforest. The project brings together art, science, technology and first nations cultural heritage through the lens of acoustic ecology and environmental education. The Eudlo Creek project was developed and delivered by Arts Front in partnership with the Montessori International College (MIC) during 2019 - https://artsfront.com/event/5266-eudlo-creek

LISTENING IN THE WILD - EUDLO CREEK (LIVE STREAM, 19 JULY 2020)

This is documentation of a live stream for Horizon Festival for the project 'Listening in the Wild'. 

This week we take you on ocean expedition from Mooloolaba to Old Woman Island with the soundscapes of migrating humpback whales, dolphins and our local reefs interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories of place from Lyndon Davis. 

Visit www.listeninginthewild.com to explore images from the site by Tricia King before listening to the soundscape. 

This edition of Listening in the Wild is supported by Subsurface Scuba and the Reef Clean Team Sunshine Coast - www.subsurfacescuba.com 

Listening in the Wild is a series of immersive soundscapes exploring environments across the Sunshine Coast produced live and streamed online for listeners to engage with at home. These experiences are created by artists Lyndon Davis, Leah Barclay and Tricia King as transient listening experiences interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories. Listening in the Wild comprises three separate experiences, streamed live online and also available post event for audiences to access anywhere at any time. The locations include virtual sound walks through Eudlo Creek National Park, a journey along the Maroochy River and an ocean expedition from Mooloolaba Beach. Each soundscape is accompanied by site-specific photography captured by Sunshine Coast based documentary photographer Tricia King.

This is a deep listening experience with binaural soundscapes that are best experienced with headphones. ​We encourage you to close your eyes, put your headphones on and lie down somewhere quiet to listen.

Listen to the live streams – www.listeninginthewild.com
Horizon Festival – https://www.horizonfestival.com.au/event/listening-in-the-wild 
Lyndon Davis - https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/news-media/deadly-stories/deadly-stories-gallery/north-coast/lyndon-davis 
Leah Barclay - www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay
Tricia King - www.usc.edu.au/staff/tricia-king

Listening in the Wild is supported by the School of Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast – https://www.usc.edu.au/about/structure/schools/school-of-creative-industries

LISTENING IN THE WILD - OLD WOMAN ISLAND (LIVE STREAM, 26 JULY 2020)

Leah Barclay is a sound artist, designer and researcher who works at the intersection of art, science and technology. Leah's research and creative work over the last decade has investigated innovative approaches to recording and disseminating the soundscapes of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to inform conservation, scientific research and public engagement. Her work explores ways we can use creativity, new technologies and emerging science to reconnect communities to the environment and inspire climate action.

Leah has been the recipient of numerous awards and her work has been commissioned, performed and exhibited to wide acclaim internationally by organisations including the Smithsonian Museum, UNESCO, Ear to the Earth, Streaming Museum, Al Gore’s Climate Reality and the IUCN. Leah’s augmented reality sound installations have been presented across the world from Times Square in New York City to the Eiffel Tower in Paris for COP21.

Leah leads several research projects including Biosphere Soundscapes and River Listening that focus on advancing the field of ecoacoustics. The design of these interdisciplinary projects are responsive to the needs of collaborating communities and involve the development of new technologies including remote sensing devices for the rainforest canopy and hydrophone recording arrays in aquatic ecosystems.

Leah is a lecturer and researcher at USC Sunshine Coast, Australia.

Leah Barclay

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