Hear & Now

sshhhhh

I am the wind

that rustles the leaves of the trees

that asks to listen to the quiet

tap tap tapping on the ground

cree-,te-te-te-te

I am tap tap tapping on the ground

while I play, the world opens up

it’s all a voyage of discovery

for a toddler

mbaveing

I am a toddler

listening to all the sounds around me

    and making all this kind of different sounds

    I can imagine

    I was always wondering

    with all these sounds around me

    why adults make only very few sounds

    oh, look, a marvelous wasp!

bzzzzzzzz

I am trying to find

where that sweet scent is coming from

    what am I doing in this bark chip desert

    so far from any plants

    I don’t know what I’m doing

    but I’m hungry

    I’m tired and don’t feel like flying

    but should I fly up to that tree?

kkghree kkttghee

I am a tree

    tiredly moving by the wind

    my branches touch my neighbour

    every time the wind moves through my canopy

    we have a complicated relationship

me and the wind

shh

I am the wind

the breeze that touches all beings and nonbeings

on earth surface

most of the times

most don’t slow down

or make the time and space

to appreciate my gentle touch

and sweeping presence

shhhuvwiiiizeeeessshh

I am swooping presence

    looping change and connection

    through the everything

    talking in joyful rhymes

    with the fuzzy little bee

bzzzz

I am a fuzzy little bee

    working hard in the garden

    I share my home with plants, birds,

    insects, humans and

    a shining beetle

crmb crmb crmb crmb

I am a beetle

    I took a wrong turn and landed

    on a big animal

    I feel threatened by its interest

    in my exploration

    and I should get going

    instead of coursing through

rrsrsshshhorhsorrsshhohro

I am coursing through

    wet and old

    I’ve rushed down to the sea

    dredged dirt tumbling to dust

    what once maybe was green

    or stone—

    a leaf, a woodchip

tp-tp-tp-tp-tp-tp

I am a woodchip

    I am lying on a warm bed of soil

    and feel myself being moved, gently

    who is moving me, I wonder

    the wind? a beetle? a human?

    I don’t know! eeeeeer!

eeerrrrrrrrrrrrr

I am eerr

    I worry those who pass

    a natural disaster?

    provoking attention to the

brown + green giants

a constant hand to my swaying movements

comes from that of wind

sshhhhh

I am the wind

    that rustles the leaves…

Authors

A collaborative place-based story from the inaugural Sound + Environment Symposium at Newcastle University, transcribed here as crafted and captured in place at Wild Roots Community Garden in the Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, on Saturday 06 September 2025, between 12:00 and 14:30 BST, by Lotte Dijkstra and the more-than-human symposium delegates, garden volunteers and visitors present, on recycled paper supplied by Newcastle University Print Services.

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RIGHT NOW, I HEAR

•

I FEEL

•

I WONDER

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IF ONLY

• RIGHT NOW, I HEAR • I FEEL • I WONDER • IF ONLY

For most urban dwellers, urban forests allow access to the more-than-human world amidst city life. By engaging with the more-than-human stories embedded within, we can foster a sense of belonging in these urban forests – vital for intersectional environmental access to their benefits. Listening is key to attuning to these urban forest stories.

Listening as baseline supports attuning to the more-than-human world, leading and guiding the composing and sharing of our own collaborative and interconnected stories.

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