“Listen to the Voices of the Fen” launched on 18th July 2024 for World Listening Day and extends to autumn 2025, and is created in partnership with Wicken Fen National Trust Nature Reserve and Babylon Arts. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Listen to the Voices of the Fen invites you to actively listen to the voices of many different species at Wicken Fen. Activities and installations will reveal hidden soundworlds we may not usually notice, from underwater, underground and inside trees. Listen from a new perspective by joining us for a listening walk, or wander at your own pace to explore sounds installations, all focussed on the intriguing and captivating soundworlds at Wicken Fen.

Installations

For summer 2024, Sound Pools installation was created specially for the boardwalk at Wicken Fen, launched on World Listening Day (18 July) and was available to experience to until the end of September. Sound Pools were enjoyed by many visitors to the fen, and was a ‘taster’ for the larger show that will be installed in summer 2025, including multiple installations and a performative launch event on World Listening day 2025. Participatory workshops will take place in the lead up.

Sounds from underwater and underground are elevated into a series of overhead speakers, inviting people to step in and out of different soundworlds, to become immersed in the chirping sounds of underwater invertebrates, crackling sounds of fish and to spark curiousity about the sounds hidden deep inside the peat where carbon and time are held.

Live Hydrophone Stream

In the visitor centre, there is an opportunity to listen live to an underwater microphone submerged in a watery ditch running alongside Sedge Fen. This underwater soundscape is also being live-streamed on the project website HERE and as part of ‘locus-sonus’ soundmap, streaming soundscapes from all over the world to explore the ever-evolving relationship between sound and place.

Deep Listening Walks

Deep Listening Walks are taking place at Wicken Fen throughout the project, providing opportunities to tune in to more of the natural world, and immerse yourself in the sounds you can’t usually hear. Check the Wicken Fen ‘events‘ page to find out about Listening Walks, and other ways to get involved in the project and visit the reserve.

FIND OUT MORE on the project website HERE.