In “Whisper of the Wild,” Kim Tingley describes her personal experiences in Denali National Park and Preserve. She had journeyed there with Davyd Betchkal, the park’s physical-science technician. Betchkal’s goal was to set up equipment that would record the natural sounds—the “soundscape”—of the park. This was part of his work in soundscape ecology, a relatively new field of science that works to record and study the acoustics of ecosystems to determine their health. Since human noise is increasing in wild areas, soundscape ecologists such as Betchkal hope to use their findings to preserve the natural acoustics of these ecosystems, thereby protecting the sound-reliant species that live there.
Just as Betchkal is searching for natural soundscapes free of human noise pollution, I have always wanted to see the night sky free of light pollution. Since I have always lived by large towns and shopping malls, I have only ever been able to see a fraction of the stars. Someday, I would like to go some remote area and see the beauty of the night sky in its entirety.
In “Whisper of the wild” written by Kim Tingley she talks about her experience in Denali National Park in Alaska. Throughout her journey with the physical-science technician of Denali National Park, Davyd Betchkal, she wrote about the influences that man made sound had on the animals of that area. While some species are able to adapt to these changes in their habitat other animals have had a much harder time and are either endangered because of it or completely extinct.
I can relate this to the time my family and I went to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. While we were there we felt as if we were as far away from people that we could possibly be but still at times we were able to hear and see planes flying over our heads. I can see how these loud noises could affect the animals of an ecosystem.
In “Whisper of the Wild” by Kim Tingley he describes his trip to do research about acoustic data, the natural sound in Denali. He tells how human have changed the sounds of the world because of all of the noise we make from machines and such. These block out the noise of the raindrops and creatures which if we could cancel out the sounds of human nad take data we could be able to tell a healthy ecosystem from an unhealthy. He also tells how more recently natural sound is being seen as something we should be protecting. The sounds of humans can have a big impact on ecosystems, he uses examples such as whales fleeing sonar. This makes me wonder what other things this effects in this way, what other animals flee because if the sounds of planes or helicopters and does it change how they act and does it have an effect on their surroundings as well.
Tingley’s piece focuses on the efforts of Davyd Betchkal to preserve the natural soundscape of wilderness in a world of increasing noise pollution from human beings. Betchkal has created areas to record natural sound in Denali National Park, to keep records of soundscapes that in the coming future may be lost forever as noise pollution increases.
Past research has shown that sound has an important role in the interactions between species in natural landscapes, such as mating and warning calls, or sounds created by natural events that signal the surrounding animal life.
Having lived near New York City for most of my life, this piece reminds me of all the noise pollution in my area. At night in my home town, I usually hear airplanes, trains, and cars from the lines and highways that run through my town. After coming to Geneseo one of the first differences I noticed was how much easier it was to hear crickets both at night and during the day. This one noise helps me to understand the spectrum of natural sound that Betchkal is trying to preserve.
Juniper Tremper
Scientific Writing 105-19
Geneseo, NY
~170 words
Humans are the Noisiest Animals
Juniper Tremper
In the article “Whisper of the Wild,” the concept of soundscape ecology is presented: that is, the idea that be comparing recordings of the total sounds from one location to recordings from another can determine which locations experience a healthy ecosystem. However, the author describes the experience of a group of “sound catchers” doing soundscape ecology research gathering in Denali, and their shock at how much of the data featured the sounds of engines or manmade productions in what should have been an entirely natural and undeveloped region.
This realization of the extent of our infiltration of nature is horrifying. In permeating the earth with sounds of human development, we are creating noise pollution that effectively silence mating calls of animals. Even for us to observe a human-silent location, we need engines to arrive. We need to rethink our use of technology in undeveloped areas- perhaps restrict use of the airspace above Denali, for starters- or at the very least, work on reducing the volume of engines we use.
In her essay “Whisper of the Wild”, Kim Tingley walks through the extreme weather and terrain of Denali National Park in order to find a spot where only natural sounds can be heard. She mentions how natural sound is a natural resource that is diminishing ,just like timber and oil, because of human interactions. This was one of the few spots on earth where no human sounds can be heard for even a couple of minutes. This article made me wonder if there are any other unique natural resources such as natural sounds.
Justin D’Souza About 220 words INTD 105 Science Writing SUNY Geneseo
Natural Ambiance versus Human Racket
by Justin D’Souza
We can see that humans have drastically altered the globe…but can we hear how we did it as well? Soundscape ecology, a new field of research, aims to discover how human activity has changed the natural compositions of the wild. Kim Tingley writes about an expedition with Davyd Betchkal into Denali National Park to monitor the natural sounds there. Often, their journey through the natural harmony was disturbed by overhead jets or helicopters. These human sounds can make it more difficult for animals to track prey or hear predators or send out mating calls. Soundscape scientists aim to not only study how humans affect wild sound, but preserve natural melodies before humans destroy them, such as the scuffle of bear cubs or the rush of an ice cave. Tingley notes the importance of sound – it surrounds one, and brings one into a natural landscape. We can shut our eyes, but never turn off our ears.
Sound connects to my life in multiple ways, the first being no matter how much I try to sleep during weekends, the random yelling of people outside my window keeps me up!! On a more scientific level, this clearly connects to what Professor McClure will do in Antarctica, because he will preserve the natural sounds of the ice, as well as giving nature a voice in the crowd of human noise.
Kim Tingley’s personal narrative elaborates on her experience in the Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. She follows Davyd Betchkal on an expedition to set up recording equipment that will be able to observe the pure soundscape with minimal human interaction. Tingley exemplifies how important the role of these soundscapes are on our planet because of the way, from them, we can determine how our ecosystems are thriving or diminishing. Determining how the sound humans create affect the natural order of things in the wild illustrates how we can use “sound ecology” to study our environment even closer.
Tingley’s piece interested me especially because music and sound, in my experience, can be extremely influential on emotions and mental states. I’m very interested in this specific case study and how the results turned out. Our ability to translate these moments in time in specific places is outstanding and inspiring.
The ability to hear noise without the influence of humans is a rare occurrence. So much so that its existence is being studied in the remote regions of the planet. Kim Tingley explains that human “noise” is considered a form of pollution and natural sounds should be preserved just as tangible objects are. This is so wildlife isn’t confused or deafened by the cacophonous noise of humans.
I can see a parallel between this article and my trip to Glacier National Park. My family and I saw all of the tourist attractions but we thought it would be nice to go off on a trail when there were little to no other people around. The trail was gorgeous and lined with waterfalls, mountains, and lush foliage. More importantly there were no other people in sight and we were surrounded by the sounds of the trickling water, wildlife, and the cool wind blowing through the dense forest. It was a deeply moving experience that deserves the same protection as the park itself.
In “Whisper of the Wild” written by Kim Tingley, Tingley centers her piece around how humans have altered the natural, acoustic ecosystem of our planet and how ecosystems have adapted to the world of artificial instruments. Also, Tingley talks a lot about how majestic it is to hear solely nature, but in an extremely urbanized society this sensation is very difficult to achieve.
I can connect this piece to a personal experience of my own because I remember that there was a massive blizzard a couple of years ago and I went to an open, snow-covered plain to meditate. I was very at piece during this experience and the only thing that I could hear was the swooshing of the winds from the powerful snowstorm. A belief of mine is that society must become less urban and focus more on preserving the natural world. When I read Tignley’s piece it reminded me of how important the beauty of the natural world is to us and how we must utilize it to obtain peace of mind. An experience that I would love to create for myself would be to travel to Antarctica and be all alone with only mother-nature and my thoughts.
