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.

Following the successful SoundPools installation over summer 2024, the project is now focused on community group workshops and activities plus public workshops and continued listening walks on site. In summer 2025, there will be a larger scale on-site installation and a launch performance piece co-created by our workshop participants.

Stay up to date

Check the project website for news on what’s happening and other resources including a Wicken Fen sound map.

Live hydrophone stream

In the visitor centre, you can listen live to an underwater microphone submerged in a watery location close by. This underwater soundscape is being 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. Listen to the live stream here

There are also headphones in the visitor centre and the Roger Clarke hide for visitors to enjoy underwater sounds.

Events

You can get involved with Voices by signing up to one of our instrument-making workshops, led here at the Fen by Kathy and Jan Hendrickse. Why not make a clay ocarina, an aeolian harp or an overtone flute (with willow cut from the Fen) and then duet with the wind and birds.

Make a clay ocarina, 3rd May:

Make an Ocarina out of clay; a small flute-like instrument, thought to have been in use for as long as 12,000 years. This workshop will guide you towards making a small ocarina that could be used to imitate local birdsong.

Listening Walk on International Dawn Chorus Day, 4th May:

Join Kathy Hinde on a walk along the boardwalk to listen to Wicken Fen from a new perspective. Via a range of different specialised microphones, will be able to tune in to sounds you may not usually notice, and sounds that would usually be inaccessible to human ears, such as listening underwater, inside trees and underground, deep into the peat to discover many of the different Voices of the Fen. Each listener will be provided with a set of wireless headphones for a shared listening experience.

Make an aeolian harp, 31st May:

Join Kathy Hinde and Jan Hendrickse as they show you how to make your very own wind-powered harp to take home. No previous experience required.

Make a flute from natural materials, 28th and 29th June:

Make your own overtone flute - with willow from Wicken Fen - and learn to play it in preparation for a special performance on the Fen (on 20th July). No experience needed. Versions of overtone flutes exist in many parts of the world from East Africa to Scandinavia.