Cousins Ave forest has been enjoyed by walkers, joggers and cyclists for decades. I regularly take my dog into the forest for a long run. Several weeks ago I arrived and found barriers erected as harvesting was commencing. I found a spot to sit and listen to the sounds of destruction in what was once a place of serenity. 

This recording captures the sounds of machinery reducing a once serene forest to slash - a term used to describe the material left behind after trees are harvested. Not only has the forest been lost to the local community but it is has been lost to the local wildlife. It is rumoured that once harvesting is complete the land will be used for a new housing development.

Recorded in Foxton Beach, New Zealand by Paul Dunham.