Mp3 Downloads vs CDs - Where old CDs go

Each day in America, thousands of CDs are tossed into landfills or worse yet, ultimately become part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, because of inefficient recycling services to properly handle all the wasted jewel boxes, DVDs, floppy discs, and CDs that get routinely trashed. Helping to reduce this waste is why we've switched to Mp3 downloads as our preferred delivery format for Wild Sanctuary album titles.

Help make a difference by swapping, selling, or donating your old albums to others who might find them of use, or if they've gotta go... send your unwanted old discs and jewel cases to CD Recycling Central. (For larger quantity or studio recycling, try Greendisk). Oh, and you can punch a couple of holes in the top of one and tie it to hang down in back of your bike seat. Makes a good reflector! Click the link for the address and other information you need - and help keep these items from showing up where they really don't belong (like in the ocean). The fishes will thank you.

Leave no footprints, especially the carbon kind

To minimize our impact on the environment, while in the field, some say 'take only photos, leave only footprints'; a good adage to be sure. We say, 'Record some sounds, and reduce your carbon footprints, too, whenever and wherever you can.' Brighterplanet.com is doing some interesting campaigns in support of renewable energies and offers a nice bit of offset just by posting their badge to your blog.

Wild Sanctuary Audio Stream

Wild Sanctuary is happy to offer live streaming audio, now available on LIVE 365. If you'd like to enjoy natural sound from your computer, just sign up for our station, and start listening to the wild world. It's free, and easy to get started, too. Here's the url link: http://www.live365.com/stations/wildsanctuary?play&site=live365

Live from New York - it's Wild Sanctuary!

We are pleased to be in New York City this week as guests of The World Science Festival. Bernie will be addressing 'The Sixth Extinction' with scientific luminary Richard Leakey at Columbia University's Miller Theater. An added note: they call it 'the city that never sleeps', I'm guessing it has something to do with noise, the No. 1 'quality of life' complaint of city dwellers. In 2006, alone, there were 350,000 citizen complaints registered about just that; since 2007 there's been a 6% rise in that figure. CHIRP!!!

Keeping WIRED to the Natural World

Thanks go to Clive Thompson and the well-versed editors at WIRED, for their May 19, 2008 story on soundscapes and 'How Man-made Noise Can Be Altering the Earth's Ecology.' Kudos always to that publication for their environmentally-friendly approach to the high tech world. We appreciate intrepid trailblazers of the Wired kind, exploring new ways to stay well-connected to the natural world - within the digital age. Image: budgetstockphoto.com

Bernie Krause, Richard Leakey, & David Thoreson address 'The Sixth Extinction'

Bernie joins celebrated paleontologist R. Leakey and intrepid photographer D. Thoreson in addressing the precarious position of planet Earth at The World Science Festival, Friday, May 30, 8:00 PM in The Miller Theater at Columbia University, NYC. This extraordinary, 5-day event is a celebration of art, science, and community - featuring Nobel Laureates and a breathtaking gathering of scientific star power among the speakers, moderators, and other participants. Check it out at www.worldsciencefestival.com/speakers

The Global Soundscape Project

Adding sound to Google Earth is part of what inspires public awareness about the increasingly fragile natural and human environment.

Wild Sanctuary’s planned Center for Soundscape Studies will also be home to
the Global Soundscape Project, an interactive network connecting mapping technology, digital recording storage, audio-naturalists and others to further dialogue in local, national, and international ecological awareness around the creative and scientific exploration of natural soundscape.

Our developing project builds an innovative bridge between the virtual and natural world, as a community of emerging bio-acousticians, audio/naturalists, educators, and others move forward in their work -- utilizing field-recording, content storage, and analysis technology, in convergence with the interconnected communications of new media, to enhance ecological dialogue and understanding, stimulate research, support distance studies, raise public awareness, and ignite creative expression within the digital age.

Inviting multi-disciplinary scholastic and academic use, and promoting increased cultural appreciation for the fragile soundscapes of the natural world, the project explores new technology and media applications to link social networking, academic collaboration, information exchange, and educational resources as never before.

The mindful results of protecting the NATURAL RESOURCE of healthy soundscape can be as powerful and effective in creating ecologically-positive social behavioral change as prior campaigns for clean air, fresh water, and smoke-free public places. Exploring the role of natural sound in creature, habitat, and human health and well-being can provide important and beneficial information for future generations.

We invite your inquiries, questions, and comments.

Now, more than ever -
What you listen to. . . matters!

FATBIRDER - a link we like

Bountiful British and Around the World Birding, Equipment Ideas and Supplies, Sight, Sounds, and more on this splendid site, filled with fine resources for audio/ naturalists and more. Check out our feathered friends at Fatbirder!

Find Kevin Colver at the WildStore

It's a patchwork constellation of biodiversity!...and a rare find for those who love the sounds of birds at home in their natural habitats, as they pour forth their remarkable melodies in sweet-sounding collaboration. Our respected colleague, Dr. Kevin Colver, is a top-notch audio/naturalist - and we're greatly pleased to announce that several of his noteworthy songbird titles are now available as MP3 downloads within Wild Sanctuary's WildStore. From Songbirds of SouthWest Canyon Country, to the Sierra Nevada's, Yellowstone, and the High Rockies, Colver's beautiful biophonic anthologies are certain to please.

Wild Christmas Now Downloadable

Add a bit of holiday fun to any time of the year. Check out A WILD CHRISTMAS, Bernie's inspired holiday album completely created from the voices of animals. Every sound on this musical Mp3 is biological - no instruments used in the composition - yet, the orchestration is lively, the arrangements are hip, and the natural fun is inherent. Click the headline and go to the WildStore for a sample.

Wild Sanctuary Goes Solar

As of today, Wild Sanctuary generates more than top-notch nature sounds! Our residence, offices, and audio production facility have all gone SOLAR. Now, with an official ‘solar generating facility’ designation, eight banks of roof-mounted solar panels (each generating 160 watts of electricity) will help power our efforts! Preserving Wild Nature is always our inspiration...and we're happy to further our corporate and personal commitments to help lower the collective carbon footprint. Have fun...go ALL SUN! Image from: designedtoat.com

Ear Witness News: from the field

Hearing Voices features Desert Solitudes

Thanks, Ben Adair, and American Public Radio for featuring our sounds on today's HV PODCAST: 'Hearing Voices', Aug. 20th. To hear a little "Desert Air", click the headline.

Vote for your favorite Eco-Spot

We love the efforts of Current TV and the Alliance Eco-Spot Contest. Be sure to vote for your favorites...and help someone that's made a great eco-spot win the Hybrid. Previews start Oct. 24th, and voting follows in November. It's the Current thing to do!

Wild Sanctuary Outreach In Second Life

Want to explore natural sound in a virtual setting? Visit Wild Sanctuary's new '2L Field Station' -- now under construction -- on 'EduIsland II' at Second Life. We're not quite ready to begin classes yet, but some fun and interesting soundscape info, helpful links, and other biophonic adventures are soon to be (almost) a reality! If you click on the headline, you might find yourself in the neighborhood. Then 'place search' for 'Wild Sanctuary', transport, and check it out - or make it easy on yourself, if you SL then visit: http://slurl.com/secondlife/EduIsland%20II/82/57/21/

WhyFiles and the Wild

There's a nifty little article about our work in WhyFiles. Click on the WhyFiles headline (above) to check it out!

Check out the new GoogleEarth KML Layer at Wild Sanctuary

"Where" was where we shared our Wild Sanctuary sounds to the world of GoogleEarth. So many people doing such wonderous things - practically dazzling! Our gratitude to Tim O'Reilly, Brady Forrest, and all their talented crew for creating such a dynamic forum. Have you downloaded our KML Layer yet? See the Wild Sanctuary home page to put sound on the map! You'll hear samples from a wide variety of our favorite wild places, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Galapagos Islands, and an astonishing chorus of wolves within Canada's Haliburton Forest.

See you 'Where'? - At 'Where 2.0', of course!

Everything happens somewhere - and Wild Sanctuary is going to be there when it does - at Where 2.0, the outstanding O'Reilly technology conference that will be mapping out the future of geospace. Our own Bernie Krause and Kat Krause, along with web-wizards Jesse Evans and Sam Evans, will be on-hand to present a new layer of possibilites featuring natural sound around the world. Meet us, when we put the 'there' in 'where', at the Fairmont Hotel, in San Jose, on Tuesday, May 29th, at 2:30 sharp. To visit to the Where 2.0 page, click on the headline for a link. Map courtesy graphicmaps.com

Wild Sanctuary Whale Effort on YouTube

Thanks to US Coast Guard Petty Officer Jonathan R. Cilley, we offer this recent video clip from our time aboard the USCG Cutter 'Pike'. Everyone connected with this operation was a pleasure to meet and work with -- and we were proud to play a small part in the initial rescue attempts. The combined skills of the entire Animal Care Team and the rescue effort's vast support groups were truly impressive -- and the amazing response and overall guidance of Lt. Governor John Garamendi, and his office, was completely inspiring. May mother and daughter humpbacks, 'Delta' and 'Dawn,' find their way home to sea, as soon as possible.

"Whale Whisperer" Did It Once - Can He Do It Again?

This is a big day for us at Wild Sanctuary. Katherine and Bernie are on a coast guard cutter, Pike, in the Port of Sacramento hoping to lure the whales back to sea. This morning while they were meeting with Lt. Gov. Garamendi, they were informed that they have been dubbed the "Whale Whisperers" by the media...

This From News 10 Sacramento:

Marine scientists say time is absolutely critical if two humpback whales floundering in the Sacramento deep water channel are to survive. A rescue team assembled Wednesday evening to launch a full scale rescue attempt at dawn.

To get the job done organizers of the rescue are bringing in the same man who came up with the successful plan that saved Humphrey the humpback whale when he go stuck in the Sacramento delta 22 years ago.

Dr. Bernie Krause says there is a positive difference this time in that it won't take three weeks to figure out what to do. "We’re going to try one thing rather than 50 or 60 different things," said Krause.

The primary strategy is to lure the whales out of the deep water channel instead of driving them down river. There will be no banging of pipes from a boat at one end while whale songs are played from a boat at the other. The new technique will be to suspend an underwater speaker which will play whale feeding sounds recorded by Krause in Alaskan waters.

But, Dr. Krause says this is not Alaska and the situation is far more challenging than it was with Humphrey. "It's a much narrower channel for a much longer distance and we don't know how the sounds are going to play so, one never knows," said Dr. Krause.

Still, he believes the job can be done in 10 hours. Dr. Krause says Humphrey swam easily at seven miles an hour. If he can get the mother and her calf to swim at the same speed, Krause says the whales could be in the San Francisco Bay by the evening and on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge by Friday.

"Watch what happens tomorrow," said Krause. "It's either going to be a big surprise, and everything's going to be great, or I'm going to be crying."


Copyright 2007
News10/KXTV

Wayward whales are back in the news.

Tonight, Channel 5 is in the drive at our Glen Ellen studio! It seems that two 50-foot female humpback whales were seen swimming the wrong way up the Sacramento River. Right away, the news arrived to interview Bernie about the safe rescue of Humphrey the Humpback Whale from the same location some 20 years ago (returning to the delta 5 years later, attracting a new eddy of press). We hope the information we've shared will help this lovely pair of misplaced mammals to find their way home - guided safely back to the bay - very, very soon. Our thanks, Channel 5, for your coverage of this story.

The Sound of Change

Another nifty thing about studying the soundscape is the way it is emerging as the newest and most interesting 'early warning system' for habitat and environmental changes related to climate and warming conditions. Stay tuned for more on how the earth's 'creature chorus' is trying to tell us something important about our carbon footprints!

The Katmai Soundscape Project moves forward!

Big News from Wild Sanctuary! We've scheduled the second week in June to be on-site in Alaska for The Katmai Soundscape Project, a continuation of The World Soundscape Project begun last June in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This phase, obtaining baseline recordings of 3 sites within Alaska's Katmai National Park, is an exciting continuation of our global project work and will add significant material to the archive from that amazing location. Known as the 'land of 10,000 smokes', the Katmai is a spectacular 40 square mile, 100-700 ft. deep ash flow deposit from Novarupta Volcano. Also known for it's brown bears, robust waterways, rich salmon habitat, remote wilderness, and rugged coastlines, this area is still recovering from 1989's Valdez oil spill, although it was over 250 miles away! If you'd like to help us accomplish the baseline soundscape study of this region please make your contribution today -- just click on the MAKE A DONATION button to your right, under The Murie Center information. And thank you. We're grateful for your support! Image courtesy NPS/Katmai National Park Photo Archive.

Martyn & Noleen Stewart Visit The Wild

We had an all too rare visit this week from Martyn and 'Roo' Stewart, our wonderful friends and natural sound compatriotas from Natursound.org! Even a Sunday walk in the park is a rare delight with this pair along. Martyn's amazing identification abilities pinpoint particular birdsong on the fly, while his wife's absolute connection with the creature world provides an inspiring and delightful example for all lucky enough to enjoy their company. Martyn (a member of Wild Sanctuary's Arctic Soundscape Project) recommends the podcasts of: 'BirdNote: Radio Stories About the Intriguing Ways of Birds" on NPR's KPLU, Mon-Fri at 8:58 a.m. We miss 'em already, bless their cotton socks!

Institute for Inquiry Now Making News!

We're so pleased with recent news that our friend, the accomplished publisher/editor Casey Walker has launched the eagerly-awaited "Institute For Inquiry", a new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization ready to transform the way news is delivered. The IFI focuses upon the stories and events that offers important information about current realities that are truly of the most vital significance -- but which, traditionally, have received the least understanding and investigation, let alone basic coverage. Using an innovative 'inquiry model' this new form of international, web-based journalism invites participation, dialogue, and awareness. The current inquiry, 'The Wireless Age', is now underway and your thoughts and remarks are welcome. And do preview the 'Soundscape Trailer', a compelling video piece on Bernie's work by Veritas Production's Weston Walker at http://www.instituteforinquiry.org/inquiries/soundscapes.php The entire effort is artful, worthwhile, and significant. Congratulations and our very best wishes go out to Casey and the IFI team.

Specialist Safari Guide Visits Wild Sanctuary

We're lucky this week to have a visit from our friend Derek Solomon here from Zambia to attract support on behalf of the creatures of the South Luangwa National Park. Derek is the trustee of the South Luangwa Conservation Society, a non-profit sponsored organization working to protect the area's fragile wildlife from poaching and habitat destruction. To offer your support of their extraoridinary efforts please visit their website or contact Derek by e-mail at: slcs@iwayafrica,com. We can assure you that any support you can offer in the way of funds will be put to use in the best possible ways to help keep this 'creature nation' viable and thriving. Photo courtesy: Derek Solomon.

Defining Soundscape for the 21st Century

So many questions!. . . What's a soundscape? Why is it important? How does it fit into a busy, urban life? What are its' characteristics? How does it benefit our perception of other sounds? And how about those ecological, social, political, acoustic, engineering, natural resource, and health science applications? What does core content and assessment have to do with wireless technology; with ecology, ornithology, taxonomy, data analysis, or -- for that matter -- study abroad possibilities? Music? Art? Mapping? Urban Planning? Agriculture? Anthropolgy? If you think there's nothing left to be discovered...then discover the realm of soundscape exploration. Wild Sanctuary is instrumental in setting the standards for the new frontiers in bioacoustics. Like stepping aboard a rocket, we invite you along for an adventure with near-limitless possibilities and the excitment of travelling into vast and uncharted territory. Wild Sanctuary provides new transport between the natural and the virtual world. Open your ears. . . and welcome aboard!
"In order to love - you have to have something to live for. Let it be earth!"
- from 'Battlestar Galactica'

Sequoia National Park/King's Canyon

Click on the headline for a link to additional information about Wild Sanctuary's work in the field...in this case, Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks.

Sign of the Times...The New York Times!

When it comes to competing for bandwidth. . . we've got placement! The Sunday New York Times Magazine (Feb. 18, 2007) featured a terrific article about soundscapes entitled "The Noises of Nature". Montana author Jeff Hull did a wonderful job in capturing the most controversial aspects of Bernie's 'Niche Hypothesis' and illuminating the dialogue as well as the subject. Jeff and his wife Ronni live in an area where wolves still howl at the moon; lucky folks. We were fortunate to have such a well-versed fellow provide this profile. Thank you, Jeff! And thank you, NY Times!

Running For Eddie

Our friend, and 30Proof Media's Managing Partner, Jennell Haynes, is doing her personal best to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at the upcoming LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon! She's currently in training to 'go for the gold'...attracting donations to the cause with her energetic commitment to participate. She's way out in front of the curve with her on-going cheery and powerful contributions on behalf of others. We salute and support her effort. Hey, Jennell! . . . We're behind you all the way! Click the headline to visit her blog.

Natural Sound - the AAA way.

VIA Magazine, the AAA Traveler's trusty Companion, is just sending out the March/April 2007 issue featuring Wild Sanctuary's own Bernie Krause in a fine article by Bill Donahue on (what else?) Biophony!
If YOU have been wondering where to find a few of the last quiet places left in the Western U.S., the AAA article lists a number of sweet spots to explore. To immerse yourself in the natural sounds of silence -- or at least find a few calming, 'chirp-filled' campsites, check out 'Sites for Sore Ears' within the article entitled "Stop, Look, & Listen!"

Educational Moment: Biophony

To learn more about the word coined by Dr. Krause, Biophony, or the the cumulative non-human sound produced by living organisms in a given biome, please visit Acoustic Ecology.
It is also a great resource to learn more about conservational biology.

You can also read about it on Neighborhood Newswire, a San Francisco Community Power organization.

More can be read at Wikitionary.

Making noise for Google Earth

This just in from the blog Ogle Earth.

"Excellent: Bernie Krause's biophony recordings, soundscapes of nature, look like they'll be turned into a KML layer soon, reports O'reilly Radar. Until then, try Freesound, a site with georeferenced ambient sounds that comes with its own KML layer. Still one of my favorites. (More about the possibilities for navigating using sound for the sight impaired here.)"

We are working on some great things here at Wild Sanctuary. Don't forget to check us out at