Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology

Summer Soundwalk Series: JeeYeun Lee
2024-06-22 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Chicago)
Join us at Steelworkers Park for a sound walk led by JeeYeun Lee, entitled, “Shore Land”. We will meet at the end of the driveway into the park next to the statue “Tribute to the Past” by Roman Villareal.
RSVP here: https://forms.gle/4yCv1tMwWDkDxjL69
From the first years of white settlement in Chicago, the shore of Lake Michigan has been heavily engineered. Legislation, lawsuits, planning, and construction have created today’s lakefront, with more than 5.5 square miles of lakefill stretching across 30 miles of shoreline between Evanston and Indiana. Much of this land is public access green space inspired by Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago. Often described as visionary, the plan was also designed to reduce labor conflict by providing recreational outlets for the working class.
Yet this lakefront can also be viewed as unceded Native territory. As the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi insisted in a 1914 lawsuit against the City of Chicago, this “made land” extends beyond the boundaries set by treaties: the Lake Michigan shoreline at the time that the treaties were signed. SHORE LAND is a suite of audio narratives that explore these contradictions, contrasting modes of settler engineering with Indigenous perspectives on the sovereignty of land and water. Join us to listen, walk, and discuss. Please bring smartphone and headphones/earbuds so you can stream and listen to the audio as we walk.
More information about the project can be found at:
https://www.jeeyeunlee.com/shore-land
JeeYeun Lee (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist who uses walking as a way to witness histories and structures of oppression and resistance in urban places. As a person from a formerly colonized country, Korea, she is committed to understanding and working against the position of now occupying Native land.
In partnership with Night Out In The Parks and the Chicago Park District, the MSAE Summer Soundwalk Series program consists of a series of guided soundwalks, workshops and training sessions that engage multi-generational communities in their own neighborhoods. Participants will listen to and for cultural and natural features of the landscape. Rivers, streets, residential and commercial dwellings, traffic patterns, human and animal sounds all feature in these soundscapes. Are plants tuning in, contributing, or responding to all this sound? How do we listen culturally, collaboratively, and more carefully?

Summer Soundwalk Series: Hai-Wen Lin
2024-06-16 11:00 - 12:00
Join us at Cricket Hill in Montrose Fields for a soundwalk led by Hai-Wen Lin: “Becoming The Wind”. We will meet at the top of Cricket Hill.
The wind is silent. What we hear are a series of encounters: a rustling handshake with the leaves, a soft sigh with the grass, a scream of discomfort at a highrise! What sounds do we make when we encounter the environment? We will begin by attuning ourselves to the sounds of the aeolian tones around us, then turning inwards to listen to our breaths, before finally breathing into the world and finding ways to attune our bodies to the wind.
RSVP here: https://forms.gle/7xhiAvEMw8D9kYcf9
Hai-Wen Lin is a Taiwanese-American artist based in Chicago whose work explores constructions of the body and its surrounding environment. They earned a Master of Design in Fashion, Body and Garment from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. You can often find their work by looking up at the sky.
In partnership with Night Out In The Parks and the Chicago Park District, our program consists of a series of guided soundwalks, workshops and training sessions that engage multi-generational communities in their own neighborhoods. Participants will listen to and for cultural and natural features of the landscape. Rivers, streets, residential and commercial dwellings, traffic patterns, human and animal sounds all feature in these soundscapes. Are plants tuning in, contributing, or responding to all this sound? How do we listen culturally, collaboratively, and more carefully?

MagiCicada Fest
2024-06-15 10:00 - 15:00
Join us for Magicicada Fest at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont, IL. MSAE is co-hosting this event and will lead soundwalks in the area to listen as Brood XIII emerges for the first time in 17 years! The event will also feature presentations, exhibits, and crafts. Check out the link to the Magicicada Soundmap project below to listen to the cicadas throughout Cook County, and also learn how to participate in this citizen science project:
Magicicada Soundmap Project

Lake County CicadaFest
2024-06-09 12:00 - 16:00
For the first time since 1803, two broods, or groups of periodical cicadas, are emerging simultaneously. Illinois is one of two states (the other being Iowa) where both broods will be making an appearance, and residents of both Cook and Lake counties will be able to hear this unique sonic event!
MSAE will be joining Lake County Forest Preserve to celebrate on June 9th at Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area. We will lead soundwalks to listen to the cicadas and other singing insects in the surrounding woods. The Forest Preserve will also have learning stations, insect demonstrations, a dress up booth for kids, insect collecting, a cicada search and much more!
Can’t make the event? You can still get involved by participating MagiCicada Soundmap citizen science project! Find the link below to help Cook County document and collect data on the Brood XIII emergence.
Magicicada Soundmap Project

Eclipse Soundscape Project Soundwalk
2024-04-08 13:00 - 15:00
Near Cincinnati, Ohio we are collaborating with composer and MSAE member Rich Bitting who leads a soundwalk beginning at the Fernald Preserve Visitors Center.
Starting at 1:00 PM (Eastern U.S. Time), Rich will lead the group from the Visitors Center to our listening post. The Visitors Center is located approximately 24 miles northwest of downtown Cincinnati.
Fernald Preserve Visitors Center
7400 Willey Road
Hamilton, OH 45013
(513) 648-3330
fernald@LM.doe.gov
Please wear comfortable shoes or hiking boots. We will walk with Rich for approximately 3/4 mile on uneven gravel/dirt trails to our listening site.
PLEASE BRING:

Snacks and drinks
Folding chair
Partial eclipse starts at 2 p.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern)
Total eclipse begins at 3:09 p.m. (Eastern) and lasts one minute and eight seconds.
The Fernald Preserve Visitors Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern)
FREE eclipse viewing glasses will be provided to the first 400 attendees. Available in the Visitor’s Center.
Parking will be limited to parking lots only.

ABOUT THE ECLIPSE SOUNDSCAPE PROJECT
Fernald Preserve is a former uranium processing facility managed by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management. For more information about citizen science and the Eclipse Soundscape Project Click here.

Science Saturdays: Sounds of Spring at Severson Dells
2024-04-06 10:00 - 14:00 | Severson Dells Nature Center, 8786 Montague Road, Rockford, IL, 61102
The Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology (MSAE) is excited to be a community partner with Severson Dells Nature Center in its monthly Science Saturdays event. Join us for three soundwalks by Alex Braidwood, Deirdre Harrison, and Eric Leonardson at 10:30am, 11:15am, and 12:30pm.
We facilitate active engagement with our ecosystems by way of immersing in the sonic landscape. MSAE explores questions such as: What is a “soundscape”? How do we make them and, conversely, what do they tell us? How does deep listening change our relationship with the acoustic environment?
On the first Saturday of each month Severson Dells features free community activities and exhibits! Science Saturdays are designed for all ages and all levels of science knowledge. Join us for this fun and FREE event! No registration required.

Acoustic Ecology Workshop at Dunes Learning Center
2024-03-23 10:00 - 11:30
JOIN BILLIE WARREN AND ERIC LEONARDSON AT PAUL H. DOUGLAS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER
Experience the many ways of listening with our more-than-human world including its way of listening to us. Dive into the symphony of nature and explore the harmonies of the natural world within the national park. Hosted by with the Dunes Learning Center, join indigenous artist and educator Billie Warren and MSAE co-founder Eric Leonardson for an acoustic ecology workshop and guided soundwalk. Discover the subtle melodies of wind rustling through leaves, the gentle murmurs of flowing water, and melodic bird songs. Uncover the ecological importance of these sounds, painting a vivid auditory tapestry of the park’s diverse ecosystems.
The Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology (MSAE), a recognized authority in soundscape studies, is dedicated to understanding the role of sound and listening in natural habitats and human societies. This listening experience will take place at the Paul H Douglas Center for Environmental Education in Miller, Indiana.
Cost per person $10, ages 12+
Register here: https://duneslearningcenter.org/programs

Charting Our Course For The New Year - 2024 Annual Meeting
2024-03-18 19:00 - 20:00
Please mark your calendars for our 2024 Annual General Meeting on Monday, March 18, from 7-8 PM (Central Time). This pivotal event promises to be a dynamic forum for collaboration, reflection, and inspiration as we chart the course for the future of acoustic ecology.

Your voice matters!

The annual meeting is an opportunity for members to meet our new board members, to get involved in our planning for the coming year and, if you are a member in good standing, provide some input on programming and other items. Your voice matters!
Please register in advance for our 2024 Annual General Meeting at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMrfu6hpz4rG930c35wraqF_dgZNahF_6gD
As we celebrate our 15th year activity, join us! To become a new MSAE member or renew your membership, visit our Membership and Mission page.
Stay tuned for the agenda to be shared soon!
Have an idea to share? Contact MSAE President, Eric Leonardson.
