Ecotones: Soundscapes of Trees
UK/South Korea Connections Grant
About Ecotones...
This international, interdisciplinary research network led by Professor Amanda Bayley (Bath Spa University) seeks new ways to communicate an awareness of environmental issues through the soundscapes of trees. It will combine insights and practices from music, ecology, conservation, social science, health and wellbeing, and education to address the global challenges of urban development and environmentally sustainable growth.
New methods for cultural engagement interventions that focus on listening to nature in urban and rural environments, in South Korea and in the UK, will draw connections between traditional music and nature, and contribute to our understanding of the relationship between forests and human health. A soundscape mapping exercise will be developed as a tool for community participation in biodiversity monitoring. Different disciplinary perspectives will help to evaluate trees and ecosystem services, climate change, cultural values, and human health improvement as major, interconnected considerations in worldwide urban development.
Investigators
Professor Amanda Bayley is Professor of Music at Bath Spa University where she leads an interdisciplinary research group on Intercultural Communication through Practice. She is co-editor of a new book series with Routledge on Transcultural Musical Practices and co-investigator on Interactive Research in Music as Sound (2017-2022) funded by the European Research Council. The Ecotones network develops her work on Interspecies Listening (2021) and Hear Water (2022).
Dr Ian Thornhill is a Lecturer in Planning and Environmental Management at the University of Manchester, previously Reader in Ecology and Nature Conservation at Bath Spa University. He has an industry-based background having worked in the private, public and charitable sectors. His research interests are primarily in the field of freshwater ecology, how aquatic ecosystems function, and peoples connections with them. Increasingly, his work explores novel ways to engage members of the public with environmental issues and to connect people with nature.
Professor Won Sop Shin is a professor at Chungbuk National University in Korea and Chair of the Korea Forest Therapy Forum. He obtained his PhD in forestry in 1992 from the University of Toronto, Canada. His research experience conducting projects on forests and human health spans 30 years, his main interest being the psychological benefits of forest and nature experiences. From 2013 to 2017 he served as Minister of Korea Forest Service (KFS) and Chair of the Committee on Forestry (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations). During his term, KFS developed many new forest policies relating to using forests for human health and welfare. He is now Head of the Graduate Department of Forest Therapy at Chungbuk National University, enrolling about 150 students in Masters’ and PhD programmes. Won Sop Shin also works closely with international organisations such as the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine.
Dr Jingun Kim obtained his PhD in forest therapy in 2021 from Chungbuk National University in Korea. He is a researcher at the Korea Forest Therapy Forum. His major research interest is the physiological and psychological benefits of forest exposure. He is researching the effects of forest healing programmes on specific patients with diseases such as mild dementia and depression.
Network Members
Dr Victor Beumer is a landscape ecologist working for Earthwatch Europe as a senior research lead for the Sustainable Cities programme. He works on nature-based solutions or green infrastructures in the built environment for climate adaptation or biodiversity. Victor obtained his PhD at Utrecht University (NL) on water storage in groundwater dependent areas. After his PhD he worked almost 10 years for the Dutch knowledge institute Deltares focusing on nature in cities and how to make use of that for climate adaptation and other functionalities. His work at Earthwatch includes setting up the UK Tiny Forest programme.
Professor Tim Collins is an environmental artist who set up the Collins + Goto Studio with Reiko Goto for long-term projects that involve socially engaged environmental art-led research and practices, with a particular focus on empathic relationship with more-than-human others. Methods include deep mapping and deep dialogue. Outputs involve exhibitions and a range of publications. Tim’s research interests include aesthetic and ethical ideas about our changing environment with a focus on how art shifts values in relationship to new ideas and experiences. Recent work includes sculptural instrument PLEIN AIR which involves a live tree and translates photosynthesis and transpiration into real-time sound. It was presented in North Carolina (2019) Glasgow (2017) and Cologne (2016).
Dr Reiko Goto is an environmental artist who set up the Collins + Goto Studio with Tim Collins for long-term projects that involve socially engaged environmental art-led research and practices, with a particular focus on empathic relationship with more-than-human others. Reiko’s artistic subject matter is the life of nature. By contemplating nature, she seeks to renew her identity. Her research interests include the relationship between humans, living things and the environment. Recent work includes sculptural instrument PLEIN AIR which involves a live tree and translates photosynthesis and transpiration into real-time sound. It was presented in North Carolina (2019) Glasgow (2017) and Cologne (2016).
Dr Daniel Hayhow is Research Lead (Urban Biodiversity) at Earthwatch Europe . Daniel provides scientific leadership on the research elements of urban nature-based solutions, including oversight on citizen-science developments, data collection and analysis for the Tiny Forest programme. A conservation scientist with ten years’ postdoctoral experience in conservation research and citizen science in Europe, Daniel has worked as a researcher in academic and NGO settings. Before joining Earthwatch, he worked in the Species Research and Monitoring section of the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, where he developed and delivered multiple large-scale and high-profile projects providing the critical evidence base for applied conservation activity. He led the 2016 and 2019 UK State of Nature reports on environmental monitoring.
Kathy Hinde is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice embraces open methods and evolving processes. Through installations, performances and site specific experiences, she aims to nurture a deeper and more embodied connection to other species and the earth’s systems. Kathy frequently works in collaboration with other practitioners and scientists and often actively involves the audience in the creative process. Awards include an Ivor Novello Award for Sound Art 2020, an Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica 2015, a British Composer Award in Sonic Art 2017, an ORAM award 2017, and a Scottish Award for New Music in 2018 for Collaboration with Maja Ratkje.
Professor Victoria Hunter is a Practitioner-Researcher and Professor in Site Dance at the University of Chichester. She teaches across a range of theoretical and practical modules, areas of specialism include: site dance practice and theory, choreography, practice-research methods, dissertation research and PhD supervision. Vicky has previously led and taught programmes for several higher education institutions, including at the the University of Leeds, LIPA, Fonty’s Academy in Tilburg, Holland and at the University of Surrey. Vicky convenes the University’s Environment and Experience Research Group and her writing on site-dance has been published in numerous publications.
Her edited volume Moving Sites: Investigating Site-Specific Dance Performance was published by Routledge in 2015 and she is co-author of (Re) Positioning Site-Dance (Intellect 2019) and her monograph Site, Dance and Body: Movement, Materials and Corporeal Engagement explores human-environment synergies through material intra-actions and was published by Palgrave in 2021.
Professor Jian Kang is Professor of Acoustics and Soundscape at the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment , University College London (UCL). He obtained his first degree and master’s degree from Tsinghua University, and his PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has worked in the field for 35+ years, with 80+ research projects, 800+publications, and 90+ engineering/consultancy projects. He is President-Elect of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV) , and he also chairs the European Acoustics Association Technical Committee for Noise , and the EU COST Action on Soundscape of European Cities and Landscapes. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Member of Academia Europaea - The Academy of Europe.
Dr Hyelim Kim is a composer and taegŭm (Korean flute) soloist, and Visiting Research Fellow at Bath Spa University. She has been performing professionally since 2000, specialising in traditional repertoire and various crossover genres. She has produced five recordings and regularly performs around the world. She is a regular member of Club Inégales and the Third Orchestra (Barbican Arts Centre). Based on her belief that Korean heritage can act as an artistic inspiration for the contemporary and cosmopolitan environment of the UK, Hyelim has also set up and leads the music and dance group, the Shilla Ensemble. Her book, Tradition and Creativity in Korean Taegŭm Flute Performance was published by Routledge in 2021.
Dr Jinsook Kim obtained her PhD in forest therapy in 2021 from Chungbuk National University in Korea. Dr Jinsook Kim is a director of Daegwallyeong Healing Forest Center in Korea. Since 1999 she has been involved as an NGO (Forests for Life) volunteer. She is the first forest commentator and forest healing instructor in the region. Her main research interest is psychological recovery found in the sounds and landscapes of the forest.
Sarah Lawfull After 20 years as a mainstream teacher in primary and early years education, Sarah escaped to the woods. Working as part of Oxfordshire's Forest School Service she led Forest School training, was involved in writing the national qualifications, and was one of the first FSA-endorsed trainers in the country. A qualified coach and fellow of the RSA, Sarah is co-founder of the Nature Premium campaign and chair of the Forest School Association , committed to ensuring every child and young person has access to quality nature-based learning. Through her own consultancy, Where the Fruit Is , she has been commissioned to deliver training on government-funded projects with the National Forest and is currently working with Leicester City in the Community, the Royal Forestry Society, and Oxfordshire County Council.
Dr Liz O’Brien is head of a dynamic Society and Environment Research Group at Forest Research that focuses on understanding the complex relationships between forestry, the environment and society. She is currently leading a five year programme on the ‘Societal benefits of trees, woods and forests’ which is interdisciplinary. Liz was involved in the UK National Ecosystem Assessment Follow-on project on the ‘shared, plural and cultural values of ecosystems’. She focuses on the health and wellbeing benefits of trees and woods, and on the impacts of tree pests and diseases on the ways in which people value them.
Dr Mojgan Rabiey is a senior postdoctoral fellow at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research and University of Birmingham. Her research is to understand the impact of climate and environmental change on woodlands and forests, the resilience of trees to invasive diseases, and how to stop tree pests and diseases. She also has interests in biocontrol approaches to treat tree diseases. Mojgan’s research will help to understand the wider importance of trees and forests to human and non-human actors.
Dr Samantha Walton is Reader in Modern Literature at Bath Spa University, director of the Research Centre for Environmental Humanities and co-director of the Research Centre in Mental Health, Creativity and Wellbeing. Her recent research has focused on the relationship between nature and mental health in the context of ecological crisis and late capitalism, and the cultural work of imagining life without fossil fuels. She has held research fellowships at the Rachel Carson Center, Munich and IASH, University of Edinburgh, and in 2016-2018 was an ECR Leadership Fellow on the project ‘Cultures of Nature and Wellbeing: Connecting Health and Ecology through Literature.’ Her most recent book, ‘Everybody Needs Beauty: In Search of the Nature Cure’, was published by Bloomsbury (UK) in 2021, with French, Italian and Spanish translations to follow.
Stevie Wishart is an English composer with her roots in improvisation and early music. A performer on the violin, and the hurdy-gurdy, (a medieval stringed keyboard instrument), she has a distinctive style which combines a strong classical foundation with an experimental approach, creating an innovative and eclectic body of contemporary work and commissions. Stevie's interest in ecology and the natural world, includes the use of birdsong and electronics to broaden her creative scope. She is currently working with the French group Ensemble Variances, Bristol New Music Festival, and poet Alice Oswald, amongst others. In 2022, she will be undertaking a residency in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, UK, working with composer Thierry Pécou studying the environment around Snape Maltings.
Dr Jinhee You, a Forest and Children Researcher, obtained her PhD in forest therapy from Chungbuk National University, Korea, in 2020, where she now lecturers. She researches rehabilitation through sensory integration, psychomotor, and art activities (art therapy) in the forest, by designing group programmes for people with developmental disabilities and for non-disabled people (children, adolescents, adults, and families).
Keynote Presentation
Dr David Haskell is a writer and a biologist. His latest book, Sounds Wild and Broken (2022), explores the story of sound on Earth, illuminating and celebrating the emergence, diversification, and loss of the sounds of our world, including human music and language. His previous books, The Forest Unseen (2013) and The Songs of Trees (2018) are acclaimed for their integration of science, poetry, and rich attention to the living world. Haskell received his BA from the University of Oxford and PhD from Cornell University. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and Professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. His presentation for Ecotones, 'Trees, music, and belonging' can be viewed here.
Workshop 1 - March 2022: People and Trees (three online workshops, 15, 18 March and 6 April).
Convenors: Amanda Bayley, Won Sop Shin. Keynote speaker: David George Haskell.
The critical subject of the Ecotones network is how humans can become more sensitive to the importance of trees by comparing sounds in nature in the UK with those in S. Korea, and their relationship to music. Workshop 1 will start to map out the multidisciplinary perspectives held for trees across the Ecotones network. Drawing on his latest book, Sounds Wild and Broken (2022), author David George Haskell will provide an overview of the many ways in which people and trees are connected. The third session led by Stevie Wishart will set the tone for subsequent workshops, to be followed by two live streams broadcast from woodlands in the UK and in S. Korea.
21 March 2022 - International Day of Forests: launch Ecotones storymap.
2-6 May 2022: World Forestry Congress, Coex, Seoul, Korea.
Participating in the World Forestry Congress by Dr Liz O'Brien
The Ecotones team attended the World Forestry Congress (WFC) in Seoul in May 2022. The WFC takes place every six years and brings together researchers, policy makers and practitioners from across the world to discuss a diversity of forestry related issues ranging from climate change, biosecurity, timber production, financial mechanisms to support forestry, community involvement and engagement, education, green infrastructure, and the health and wellbeing benefits of forests. According to the organisers, the Korean Forest Service and FAO, over 15,000 people participated from 146 countries (both in person and online).
South Korea has a strong story to tell about forest cover, as it has gone through a period of forest transition moving from about 35% forest cover in the 1950s to 63% today. This rapid afforestation which took place mainly from the 1970s was supported by the Government through its reforestation policy, incentives, promotion of inter-agency cooperation and coordination, and encouraging all to participate in tree planting.
The Ecotones team participated in a variety of plenary and targeted sessions focused on a range of topics. Key messages raised at the congress included the need to take action to increase forest cover and reduce deforestation outlining that there is a shared responsibility for all to get involved in dealing with problems and taking forward any solutions. Congress participants talked about the importance of sharing information, raising awareness, and communicating key messages about the role of forests and the benefits they can bring, as well as the need for public, and private bodies, and civil society to work together and foster action, and engagement and involvement in decision making for all sections of society.
The Ecotones team networked with a variety of delegates at the Congress and one contact led to our visiting the Korea Forest Research Institute (also known as the National Institute of Forest Science, NIFoS) for a morning, to meet with Dr Chan Ryul Park whose research focuses on bird soundscapes and adaptations in sounds brought about by changes in the environment and urban development. We walked through the Forest Service’s arboretum listening, discussing, and recording bird sounds.
Outcomes from the WFC include the Seoul Forest Declaration which was adopted at the Congress identifying priority areas that should be followed to build a green, healthy and resilient environment. Youth and young professionals involved in the forest sector were also active and called for action and involvement of youth in decision making and development of future solutions. Overall, the WFC has given us contacts, ideas, and food for thought for our developing Ecotones project.
Workshop 2 - 7-9 May 2022: Growing Music, Human Health and Forest Health, Yeongju National Healing Center, Korea. Convenors: Won Sop Shin, Jin Gun Kim. Keynote speaker: Si Hyeong Lee (Director of Serotonin Culture / Head of Korea Natural Medicine Research Institute)
Day 1 - Growing Music will explore the importance of music and nature through bamboo and traditional Korean music in the forest zone of the National Forest healing complex. Situated within a protected mountain area, the site has a variety of terrain, microclimates, and vegetation compositions, and a diverse ecosystem of plant and animal species. H. Kim will demonstrate this interconnectedness through the making of musical instruments with bamboo, wood, leaves and other natural materials. As a continuation of the task in Workshop 1, she will lead listening walks to document and collect nature’s sounds. Bayley will explore how communities of listening can develop the translation processes involved between tree soundscapes and music in order to bring more significance to our soundworlds, as well as for monitoring natural habitats. These will be compared with the sounds experienced and recorded during the fieldwork trip within the World Forestry Congress in Seoul. Shin will report on the forest policies he developed as Minister of the Korea Forest Service and will present his recent research on forest therapy programmes, and the perceived restorativeness of citizens visiting forests according to forest space type. Thornhill will develop the concept of rewilding and the barriers and opportunities it provides for social and ecological health, particularly in urban contexts.
Day 2 - Human Health, Forest Health will explore the health of humans and the health of trees in the central zone of the complex, which includes the health promotion centre, visitor centre, hydrotherapy centre, meditation centre, auditorium, and several types of healing gardens. The psychological and physiological benefits of diverse forest healing experiences will be presented by Si Hyeong Lee, a professor of psychiatry who runs a healing programme, GOGO YO, for health and wellbeing for young and old. His research on the effects of social and industrial growth on stress levels will inform discussions on the environmental and social benefits of trees in cities. Jeong Hyung Lee will present on the 'Green Gym' programme within Forest for Life, a forest-related NGO in Korea. From her work leading the Society and Environment Research Group of Forest Research UK, O'Brien will demonstrate the significance of trees and forests for the wellbeing of urban populations. Walton will explore how critiques of wellbeing, ecosystems services, and natural capital can inform, advance, and problematise biomedical and cross-cultural understandings of the benefits of ‘healing nature’ (Bache and Scott 2018).
Workshop 3 - June 2022 (online) : Translation and consolidation of Korean workshops and the World Forestry Congress in Seoul (2-6 May 2022).
Convenors: Amanda Bayley, Won Sop Shin, Hyelim Kim
Workshop 4 - 18-20 July 2022: Nature’s Ensemble, Eco-creativity, and Ecoliteracy, Dartington, Devon, UK
Convenors: Amanda Bayley, Samantha Walton Keynotes: Kathy Hinde, Jian Kang
Day 1- World Listening Day Hinde will lead listening walks and field recordings on the Dartington Hall estate, using an ultrasonic sensor to listen to water flowing through trees, as well as underwater habitats captured by hydrophones.
Day 2 - Nature’s Ensemble Jin Sook Kim (Director of the National Center for Forest Therapy, Daegwallyeong), will present her work on different types of nature sounds (water, wind, birdsong, etc.) and how they influence people's restoration. She will refer to the Korea's Forest Welfare Policy with examples from the forest soundscapes of Daegwallyeong. Kang will present his research on sound propagation in trees and vegetation, including scientific analysis of the way sound is absorbed according to plant density, geometrical and biological characteristics, and how sound is transmitted, e.g. through hedges. Hinde will provide examples from her sound art installations based on listening to plants. She will also lead a workshop on making contact mics, to demonstrate how open source electronics can combine listening, music and citizen science. Wishart will lead listening activities that involve encoding nature sounds as a compositional process that brings an environmental focus to music pedagogy.
Photo © Amanda Bayley
Day 3 - Eco-creativity and Ecoliteracy The influence of forest activities on an individual’s psychological wellbeing will be considered within the context of Jin Gun Kim’s research on medicine-based forest therapy programmes in South Korea. Wishart and Hyelim Kim will lead the Ecotones Ensemble, involving collective listening and performing activities for developing accessible and inclusive approaches for engaging with the natural environment.
Photo © Jingun Kim
Workshop 5 - 21-22 July 2022: Tree Cities and Forest Education, Bristol/Bath, UK
Convenors: Ian Thornhill, Amanda Bayley Keynotes: Will Shipp (social prescribing link worker, facilitator and health coach), Livia Filotico (producer and PhD student at McGill University, Canada)
Day 1 - Tree Cities will involve network members investigating sounds linked to observing species and monitoring trees in Trym Valley ‘Tiny Forest’ Southmead, Bristol and surrounding treescapes. Earthwatch is pioneering Tiny Forest in the UK and is conducting a UK-wide research study to help understand how these tiny woods deliver environmental and social benefits right into the heart of our cities and urban spaces. As a Link Worker and Health Coach, Shipp will share his experience of social prescribing, an NHS funded service which strengthens the relationship between Primary Care (General Practices) and community groups and services in order to improve access and support for addressing the social determinants of health. Jin Hee You will present the benefits of a family forest education programme in South Korea focusing on sensory integration, psychomotorik, forest education, and forest sound activities. Kang and O'Brien will present on urban soundscapes and the social value of trees with reference to the iTree project.
Day 2 - Forest Education at Bath Spa University's Newton Park campus will begin with a tree yoga session led by Emily Malik of EcoWild . Lawfull will present the child-centred, inspirational learning process of Forest Schools (UK), known for helping learners to develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually by establishing a deep and meaningful connection to the world. Livia Filotico (Rome-based producer and PhD student in anthropology) will present her educational work with Shimaka (in Ecuador) that is founded on indigenous forest wisdom, and through which she is building a strong network of allies in Europe to protect the forest. Wishart will lead a co-creative workshop and performance with the Ecotones Ensemble listening to and engaging with local nature sounds, exploring the rich soundworlds we inhabit.
Workshop 6 - 25-26 July 2022: Urban development, Sound Spirit and Scotland, Glasgow, UK
Convenors: Liz O’Brien, Tim Collins and Reiko Goto Keynotes: Martin Faulkner (NatureScot), Catherine Ward-Thompson (University of Edinburgh)
Day 1: Sensing the Trees at Glasgow Botanic Gardens will begin with the installation of ‘Spirit in the Trees’ by Collins + Goto Studio with Chris Malcom and a pair of ‘instruments’. Presentations by Collins, Reiko and Malcolm, will initiate a dialogue about what is not seen, and hearing what cannot be heard. ‘ Spirit ’ reveals the carbon-breath exchange of trees through photosynthesis and respiration through the development of a climate instrument and concept. Presented by Neil Callaghan (with Wishart and Hyelim Kim), the Body Weather approach to training and performance investigates the intersections of bodies and their environments, through movement and gesture, to be explored in the context of a tree’s anatomy.
Day 2: Urban development around the Hamiltonhill Claypits Local Nature Reserve and Glasgow Sculpture Studios will lead to discourse about the past, present and future of ‘Our Dear Green Place’ (Glasgow City Council), including evaluation of trees and ecosystem services, climate change, biodiversity values and human health improvement in the face of the ‘Glasgow Effect’ – a major consideration in urban development plans. Faulkner will present the challenges of retro-fitting green infrastructure. The fundamental question is: What are the potential creative future ideas and ideals that might reshape our forest future in this Dear Green Place? As a landscape architect, Ward Thompson, will contribute insights from her research on the history and theory of urban park design and conservation, inclusive access to outdoor environments, environment-behaviour interactions, landscape design for older people, children and teenagers, and salutogenic environments.
Timber Festival - 7-9 July 2023, Feanedock, The National Forest
Participatory workshops and performances from the Ecotones network are taking place at the Timber Festival between 7 and 9 July 2023.
Timber Timbre Amanda Bayley (viola), Hyelim Kim (composer, daegeum - Korean bamboo flute) and Stevie Wishart (composer, violin and hurdy-gurdy) play music composed with Timber Festival participants and trees. We invite you to learn and explore music techniques for listening and tuning in to the natural noise-floor of the forest. This is a chance to express connections and play with nature through musical interactions and sensitivities.
Co-funded by a National Forest Arts grant, Timber Timbre has involved workshops with young carers from Leicester City in the Community during May and June, in preparation for a performance at Timber Festival on 8 July.
Hakoto The Hakoto instrument uses technology to enable empathic exchange with more than human others to see and hear things that are invisible and silent to human ears and eyes: the sound of atmospheric change amongst birch, alder and willow. The Collins + Goto studio will perform, twice daily, a new and unique ‘carbon duet’ with twin Hakoto, built as a body instrument with its own amplified voice. Sensors placed on a handheld tree leaf will monitor sunlight, carbon dioxide and humidity, measuring photosynthesis and transpiration. Data is the basis for this sound experience, with origins in ancient Japanese Shinto music.
Drawing and Dancing with Trees In this fun workshop, we will explore tree spaces through drawing, movement, and dancing. Using the trees as our stimulus we will explore their shape, and form through our moving bodies and respond to the sounds and rhythms of the woodlands around us. No movement or drawing experience necessary! The workshop is for all ages, and is led by Vicky Hunter, Professor in Dance at the University of Chichester. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
