HEAR SOIL is an interdisciplinary project that builds on ‘HEAR WATER‘, expanding to embrace the subterranean sounds beneath our feet. HEAR SOIL aims to introduce new methods for teachers to engage pupils with listening, nature connection, sounds of nature, soil science, music technology, creativity and wellbeing. The HEAR SOIL research team are: interdisciplinary artist Kathy Hinde, artist educator Jill Parsons, creative technologist and artist Matthew Olden, Professor of Music Amanda Bayley at Bath Spa University, Soil scientist Sam Bonnett at University of West of England, and freshwater ecologist Ian Thornhill at Manchester University.
HEAR SOIL introduced the following activities as a provocation to co-create learnign resources for teachers in primary and SEN/D educational settings.
• LISTENING GAMES
Download a guide to many listening games that children can participate in outdoors to enliven their minds and imaginations to the sounds around them. HERE
• ENHANCING LISTENING – USING OBJECTS TO HELP US LISTEN FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Prompts to introduce this activity can include thinking about how other animals hear and how their ears are shaped. Show some images of other animals as examples. Eg. a deer’s ears are huge and can rotate 360 degrees to be able to listen in specific directions. The shape of the ear amplifies the sounds. An owl’s face is like a parabolic dish which helps the owl pick up sound very effectively and to be able to tell which direction the sound is coming from.
Provide a selection of tubes, cones, horns for the group to explore ‘enhanced listening’.
• LEARN ABOUT SOIL ECOLOGY
• LISTENING WITH TECHNOLOGY TO FIND SOUNDS WE CAN’T USUALLY HEAR
• BE CREATIVE AND MUSIC WITH SOIL SOUNDS
