LISTEN
The public artwork, Listen, is
designed to help visitors enjoy
Scenic Dr. S.
the park’s acoustic ecology - the
relationship between living beings
Summer Sounds and their environment, understood
through sound.
Listen is a sound mirror. The
concave area behind the bench is
3rd Ave. S
a parabola that reflects sound to a
single point 76 cm. or 30 in. from
HELEN SCHULER the top of the bench. As a passive
NATURE CENTRE hearing aid, Listen does not create
sound, but will amplify the sounds
eR
d. S. entering the parabola for a listener
Battl
Ind
ian who finds this focus with their ear.
LISTEN With every visit to Listen, the
soundscape will likely be different.
This might be because different
animals, insects and birds are
nearby, or because a change in
wind or weather has shaped or
carried sound differently. Repeated
attention to the park’s soundscape
can enhance appreciation of how
sound adds a rich, complex and
often beautiful dimension to the
entire environment.
Thanks also to KOOPMAN ARCHITECTURE, This seasonal series of guides offers
INLAND HEIDLBERG CEMENT GROUP, and suggestions to help enhance your
the LETHBRIDGE ALLIED ARTS COUNCIL. appreciation of the soundscape.
LISTEN
If there is little wind or traffic sound, the
sounds of wings can be one way of listening
to creatures like birds and insects. A dragon-
fly taking off from a leafy perch makes a subtle
rattling sound.
Summer Sounds
The wind is a prominent part of Leth-
bridge’s soundscape many days of the
year. The prevailing wind is from the west,
mostly from west-southwest. This pre- Rustles and crunching in the woods and
vailing wind can carry traffic sound from Bird wings make a variety of sounds from undergrowth can tell you that something
the Whoop-Up Drive Bridge and make the flapping to fluttering to whirring to whistling, is nearby. It can be difficult to tell which
sound louder than it might be on a calm depending on the bird and the kind of flight. creature it might be, but sometimes the
day or at times when the wind is from a dif- Flying can also have different rhythms. For rhythm and speed can offer clues. The
ferent direction. If you notice more sound The sound that the wind makes in some trees example, the intermittent flapping and glid- loudness of the sound is less of an indica-
from the Highway 3 Bridge, then likely the is similar to hands clapping or rain falling, ing of a Northern Flicker is very different from tion. A deer can move almost silently when
wind is from the northwest. whereas other trees have a more subtle rus- the steady beat of a Canadian Goose’s flight. If it wants, and a tiny ground squirrel can
tling sounds. The sound of wind in grass also you happen to hear a flock of geese flying over- make a racket if its surroundings are dry
If the wind is strong, try listening carefully makes a rustling sound, but differently from head, listen to how the sounds of many wings enough. It is possible to associate sounds
facing into it, and then turn around and lis- that of trees. On a still day in late summer, an- combine, and how this sound combines with with their makers, but it helps to see them
ten facing away. How does the wind sound, other plant sound you may hear close to the the sound of their honking voices. as well, though this isn’t always possible.
depending on how you are facing? Are Nature Centre parking lot is the popping of
there other sounds? Where is the sound – caragana seed pods.
near or far? Try this in a sheltered space
and an open space. The interior shape of
a woodwind or brass musical instrument
helps to shape the sound, and the same is
true, more subtly, of larger spaces. This is Insects make various humming or buzzing
why, while filming a movie, crews gather sound when they fly. Insects like crickets
the sound of the locations to fill any gaps and grasshoppers make chirping sounds
between sounds in editing. A different called stridulation. Stridulation is made
space’s air could sound odd. Gaps of total by rubbing a wing or leg “scraper” on a file
silence seem very odd, as if there is sud- like structure on a wing.
denly a vacuum.