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THE 2022 FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
22 October - 13 November
FoSS and ESRC logos

Sounding the forest: forest walk and workshop

My local area theme

What’s on offer?

Come and join us for a walk around Gateshead Riverside Park. Listen to the trees in multiple ways and make DIY musical instruments from found objects to sound the forest. Gateshead Riverside Park has a rich history. Once a crowded industrial community, the area has become a dense woodland, wildlife haven, and an underused resource for the community. This event focuses on those woodland trees, their histories and futures. Trees are usually considered objects, with many benefits, but easily replaceable to make space for development. Yet, trees are living beings and support other life.

What’s it about?

In this event, we will first start by listening to those trees. We will listen with our ears and with the help of specialist microphones to hear the sap circulating through the trees, the worms in the soil, and birds singing in the canopies. We will then gather objects in the woodland and use them as prompts to think about how the trees experience the place around them over time. Finally, we will turn those objects into DIY musical instruments to ‘sound the forest’ and bring attention to its histories. Please come dressed for all weathers. Should we need to reschedule the event due to adverse weather conditions, we will contact all participants in advance of the event.

Who’s leading the event?

Usue Ruiz Arana, lecturer in Landscape Architecture, Newcastle University 

Lotte Dijkstra, PhD researcher, Newcastle University 

Open to

Children aged 4-12, with an accompanying adult. 

Of particular interest to

Budding naturalists and music makers, nature enthusiasts and those curious about Gateshead Riverside Park. 

Event booking deadline

24 hours before the event starts.