Silence of the Lands

Silence of the Lands enables participants to map and annotate the soundscape of urban and natural environments. Participants can record and collect ambient sounds, create and share acoustic cartographies, and use them as conversation pieces of a social dialogue on the sonic environment. The result is an ecomuseum in which personal acoustic ecologies are translated into an affective geography that changes over time according to participants’ perceptions and interpretations of their environmental setting.

A Community of Soundscapes in Boulder, Colorado

The Boulder project is supported by the CU-Boulder Outreach Committee and is a partnership with the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) and the Boulder Water Quality Department.

Participants in the project will be involved in activities of sound mapping from July 23 to August 10, 2007. Group meetings will take place 6-9 PM on July 23, July 30, and August 6. Individual sound walks and online activities will take approximately 3 to 5 hours per week.

Meetings will take place on weekdays after business hours (M-F 6-9), whereas hikes can be taken any time during the week according to availabilities and preferences.

Part of the work will need to be conducted online at your home computer. If you don’t have a computer at home, technical support and facilities will be provided at a CU university lab twice a week after business hours (M-F 6-9).

Participating will expand your listening skills and help you gain new insights into the environment and the community in which you live. Your participation will also contribute to the development of an innovative infrastructure to give voice, express, and explore different perspectives and interpretations of the natural environment.

Applications for participating in the Boulder program will close on May 21st, 2007.