Soundworms Ecology Gathering

The Soundworm Ecology Gathering was a three-day meeting of minds which brought together persons involved in ecology, theory and acoustics to discuss and exchange ideas a variety of questions concerning the natural environment in relation to the human actions taking place on it.

The sound environment of the monotonous industrial soundscapes around Most, in northern Bohemia, consists mainly of the legato drone of the machines and the staccato counterpoint of stones tumbling onto the conveyor belts. This deep rumble can be heard from many kilometres away. How far it is carried depends on the atmospheric conditions, including the humidity and wind direction. From afar, the stripping and removal of coal and its transformation into energy appear uneventful, but the sound vibrations cast off by this industrial activity are sublime. But how much of this sublimity can the environment and its inhabitants endure before the mechanical process of extracting raw material becomes just a source of tedious, deadening noise?