about
arboreus.earth is a collection of signature sounds from the one of the planet’s most loved plants—trees. Together, these sonic portraits form a virtual, global forest. As they say, it takes a village to raise a forest, and that’s what arboreus.earth hopes to do. The site has been developed by Australian field recording sound artist, Kim V. Goldsmith, inviting field recordists, sound artists, and acoustic ecologists from across the world to contribute sounds and information to grow the archive.
Each soundtrack captures sounds influenced by the biophony, geophony and even anthropophony of the environments these trees live within, as well as their inner worlds—from the top of their leafy canopies to roots plunging deep into the soil. From remote locations to those trees that live close beside us, each is shaped by its wider environment, the climate and weather on the day it was recorded, it’s age and history—somewhat like us. No two species will sound the same, nor will two trees of the same species.
Hear the inner rumbles, crackles, clicks, groans, and gurgles, the wind rattling or whispering through canopies, creaking branches, and sounds of those species that call these trees and forests home. Some tracks on the site are single-source sounds of one part of the tree or its environment using a single microphone, others are more complex, multi-track mixes using different microphones or recordings taken over time. As you’ll hear, there is no one way to record the sounds of trees!
This is such an exciting project and has encouraged me to look at (listen to) trees with new perspective. — Karim Kara, Kenya
We hope you love this site for what it aims to do—that is using the craft of field recording, art, science, and passion to inspire us all to make deeper connections with the trees around us, thinking of them as kin who connect our past and our future. As kin, we should seek permission to listen to trees and the landscapes they are part of. Whether it is a practice steeped in the ancient knowledge of First Nations people, or a personal evolution of spiritual connection and learned understanding of our entanglement with more-than-human species, those of us working in this space listen and record with the intention of sharing our love of the natural world and belief in a future of less otherness.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TREES
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We want this project to inspire individuals and communities. If you have an idea that celebrates trees, their value to not only the environment but your community, let us know. It might be a planting program, a soundwalk through a forest, a community workshop on planting trees suited to a changing climate, or something else, we’d love to support you. We can set up a new page for projects just like this and help promote them through a range of channels and platforms.
Hope is the tree that holds the world – Pliny
Soundtrack submission information is on the submit page.
This is a volunteer-run site with no commercial interests. Please be kind and patient.
arboreus.earth is supported by eco-pulse.art—a project-based web platform for collaborative ecological art projects, founded in 2020.
arboreus.earth 