Sounds from Nature, Stories from Science

In 2016 I put together a grant with Yellowstone National Park to train two undergraduate students as natural sounds recordists and audio producers. Over the course of 2.5 years, we hosted two audio recording and production workshops in the park where we recorded the sounds of thermal features, weather events, rivers, and wildlife, including wolves and bison. As a result of this training and guidance, my students produced 22 audio postcards to engage and educate the public about the sounds of Yellowstone National Park.

During the last year of the project, we transitioned towards a more research focus. Remote audio recorders placed around the park gathered audio data along an elevational transect. We developed methods to turn those recordings into bioacoustical indices that allow the park to track biological activity through the seasons at different elevations. This work resulted in multiple student presentations at local conferences and a student-produced 5 minute radio style story about entirety of the project.