Australian Rivers Institute Seminar

Leah Barclay was invited to give a seminar at the Australian Rivers Institute Seminar on October 31st, 2014. The seminar showcased outcomes from the Synapse Residency and future opportunities for this project.

River Listening is a research collaboration between Dr. Leah Barclay and the Australian Rivers Institute to explore new methods for acoustically monitoring four Queensland river systems: the Brisbane River, the Mary River, the Noosa River and the Logan River. The project has involved listening labs, field recording, sound maps, performances and installations to experiment with virtual technologies and community engagement in understanding river health and aquatic biodiversity. This seminar will introduce the creative foundations of River Listening and highlight Barclay’s collaborations with river systems across the world spanning ten years. River Listening fundamentally explores the creative possibilities of aquatic bioacoustics and the potential for new approaches in the management and conservation of global river systems.

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2014 Mary River Festival

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The Mary River Festival is an opportunity for a playful celebration of the unique environment and vibrant communities that exists along the Mary River in Queensland, Australia.

In 2014 the River Listening team was invited to present a pilot of the River Listening immersive installation at this community event. This was an experiment for our interactive sound installation  in development that uses transducers and bone conduction to give audiences the sensation of listening underwater.

The mission of this festival is to increase the awareness of the unique Mary River environment through recreation and celebration.

They are committed to empowering the communities along the Mary River by showcasing local creativity, projects, ideas, resources, culture that enhance and protect the unique environment of the Mary River catchment, while featuring workshops  and  exhibits,  entertainment  and  children’s  activities  in  a  festival   atmosphere.

2014 World Parks Congress

The IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 is a landmark global forum on protected areas. The Congress will share knowledge and innovation, setting the agenda for protected areas conservation for the decade to come. Building on the theme “Parks, people, planet: inspiring solutions”, it will present, discuss and create original approaches for conservation and development, helping to address the gap in the conservation and sustainable development agenda.

Dr Leah Barclay was invited to speak about the development of the River Listening project in the ‘inspiring a new generation’ stream.  Leah also hosted a demo of the River Listening sound installation and played hydrophone recording for the congress during a digital showcase. 

This ‘inspiring a new generation’  stream empowered the growth of an enduring global initiative for a new generation to experience, connect with, be inspired by, value, and conserve nature. It will bring the powerful voices of young people from across the globe to the Congress, along with key partners in the conservation community, corporate and social leaders, educators, and others, to share their experiences, perspectives, knowledge, skills, technologies, and ideas in innovative and creative ways, and empowering them to take leadership to ensure the on-going stewardship of nature. The stream will support a shared vision to connect a new generation to nature and ensure new leadership and engagement of young people in support of inter-generational partnerships for parks, people and planet.

The IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 will articulate the vital role of protected areas in conserving nature while delivering essential ecosystem services and position protected areas within goals of economic and community well-being, and demonstrate how this can be achieved in practice.

For parks, it will strengthen conservation targets whilst engaging a varied audience from government to general members of society who care about the health of our planet.

For people, it will engage with development sectors and inspire citizens to connect with nature.

For the planet, it will demonstrate nature-based solutions to global challenges such as climate change, health, and supporting human life.

For the first time, the Congress will collate and communicate the most compelling and inspiring solutions to global challenges. It will help create new sustainable commitments for protected areas across the conservation, development and business sectors. This will be the promise of Sydney.

www.worldparkscongress.org