Listen to the Voices of the Fen

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.

This project has 3 phases:

• Summer 2024: installation on site with which visitors are invited to engage

• Community group workshops and activites, from summer 2024 through to summer 2025; also public workshops and continued listening walks on site

• Summer 2025: larger scale installation on site, with launch performance piece co-created by our workshop participants

Sound Pools installation

At the boardwalk close to the Roger Clarke Hide. Wander along the boardwalk and find yourself being bathed in hidden sounds from the Fen. Sounds from underwater and underground are elevated into a series of overhead speakers, inviting you to step in and out of different soundworlds as you approach the Roger Clarke Hide pond. Become immersed in the chirping sounds of underwater invertebrates and crackling sounds of fish from the ponds and lodes. Become curious about sounds hidden deep inside the peat where carbon and time are held.

Recordings have been made from the beginning of 2024 to explore the underwater and underground soundworlds through the seasons in celebration of Wicken Fen’s 125 year anniversary.

Opening 18 July for summer evening opening at 18:00

Showing every day until 29 September during WIcken Fen’s usual opening hours.

Live Hydrophone Stream

In the visitor centre, there will be an opportunity to listen live to an underwater microphone submerged in a watery location close by. This underwater soundscape will also be live-streamed 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

Kathy Hinde will be leading Deep Listening Walks over the opening weekend of the 2024 installation, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July, at 11.30am, 2pm and 4pm. Tune in to more of the natural world, and immerse yourself in the sounds you cannot normally hear, with Kathy as your guide. You’ll be wearing wireless headphones to pick up the other voices of the Fen via her microphones. As places are limited, we suggest pre-booking via our events page.

There will be more opportunities for listening experiences led by our team of volunteers through the summer as part of this project.