Naturesound podcast

Ringtone_fur seal by Martyn Stewart

Ringtone_frigatebird by Martyn Stewart

Ringtone_Mockingbird by Martyn Stewart

Ringtone_Red_booby by Martyn Stewart

🌿 TUNE IN! 🌿

I’m joining the brilliant @cerysmatthews tomorrow on BBC Radio 6 Music for a special episode of her Sunday morning show.

🎧 We’ll be diving into the sounds of the natural world, stories from the field, and the beauty that lies in listening deeply.

🦉 With fellow guest @sophiepavs, we explore why nature’s voice matters now more than ever.

🗓 Broadcast: 18 May 2025

🕙 Time: 10:00 AM (UK time)

📻 BBC Radio 6 Music

🎙 Episode: “Naturally Beautiful”

Grateful to share space with Cerys and Sophie to talk about soundscapes, science, and the soul of the wild.

#MartynStewart #CerysMatthews #BBC6Music #NatureSounds #Soundscapes #WildlifeRecording #SophiePavelle #RadioInterview #NatureMatters #EcologyInSound #NaturallyBeautiful #FieldRecording #BBC See less

The world is literally getting quieter - and not in a good way. Since 1970, we've lost nearly 70% of Earth's wildlife populations, and with them, the natural symphony that once filled our planet.

That's such a striking way to think about extinction - not just in terms of numbers, but in terms of silence. And this story about sound recordist Martyn Stewart really brings that home.

You know what fascinates me? He started recording nature's sounds when he was just 11 years old, back when the world had only 3.5 billion people. The recordings from those early days capture something we can barely imagine now - nightingales filling English evenings, wolves howling under Alaskan moons.

And now when he returns to those same locations, what used to take minutes to record can take days. It's like nature's orchestra is missing most of its musicians.

The statistics are pretty devastating. Beyond that 69% decline in wildlife, we've lost up to 75% of insects in some areas. Most people don't think about insects, but they're literally the baseline rhythm section of nature's symphony.

That makes me wonder - what exactly replaced all those natural sounds?

Well, Stewart describes it perfectly - the constant drone of traffic, the whine of development, aircraft noise slicing through skies that used to carry nothing but bird calls. We're basically drowning out nature's voice with our own noise.

The part about recording the last Kauai oo bird is heartbreaking. Imagine being there, knowing you're documenting the final notes of a species that will never sing again.

And here's what's crucial to understand - these aren't just beautiful sounds we're losing. They're vital communication networks. Birds warning about predators, frogs indicating clean water, forests sharing information about danger through sound. When we lose these voices, we're breaking down entire ecological communication systems.

That reminds me of research showing how noise pollution affects everything from bird breeding patterns to plant pollination. It's all connected.

Exactly! And Stewart makes this brilliant point about how silence in nature isn't peaceful - it's actually a warning sign. It's like walking into a usually bustling city and finding it completely empty. Something's very wrong.

The way he describes wetlands really struck me - they've been halved globally. That's not just habitat loss, it's the disappearance of entire acoustic environments.

You know what's fascinating about wetlands? They have unique acoustic properties that help animals communicate more effectively. When we drain them, we're not just destroying habitat - we're literally changing how sound travels through the landscape.

That's such an interesting perspective - thinking about ecosystems in terms of their acoustic space.

And in healthy ecosystems, different species evolve to communicate in different frequency ranges - like nature's version of radio channels. When we lose species, we're not just losing individual voices, we're disrupting this incredibly complex network.

So what hope does Stewart offer? Because this all sounds pretty bleak.

Well, he's seen firsthand how resilient nature can be. Give an ecosystem space and protection, and the sounds can return. Species can rebound. But he's clear that time is running out - we need to act while there are still enough voices left to rebuild these natural choruses.

www.thelisteningplanet.com

We did this podcast BEFORE we went to Scotland in January 2025. See www.thelisteningplanet.com

Visit the Skagit flats in Washington State around winter time and see the spectacle that is the Snow Goose.. visit www.thelisteningplanet.com

Here’s a thought: Earth is around 4.5 billion years old. Humans? We’ve only been around for about 140,000 years.

To put that into perspective, imagine Earth’s entire existence compressed into a single 24-hour day. Humans would’ve shown up in the last three seconds. Just three seconds. And look what we’ve managed to do in that blink of time.

We gave ourselves the name *Homo sapiens*, meaning "wise man." But are we really wise? Sure, we’re smart. We’ve figured out how to split atoms and send machines into deep space searching for new planets. But we also used those atoms for war. And while we explore the stars, we’re destroying the one home we actually have.

That’s not wisdom. Wisdom listens. It pays attention.

But we’ve ignored every warning sign from nature. We’ve turned a blind eye to her cries for help. Real wisdom knows that everything we do has consequences. So we shouldn’t be surprised when the weather gets more extreme, or when wildfires and droughts hit harder and more often.

Pollution is at an all-time high. We're cutting down more forests, pumping out more carbon, and wiping out species faster than ever—at a rate **1,000 times** higher than normal. That’s staggering. In the next few decades, animals we all grew up with—lions, rhinos, elephants, gorillas, polar bears—could be gone forever. All in the short time we’ve been here.

These animals survived millions of years without us. But they might not survive us. In our short time, we've turned the natural world into a factory, a conveyor belt of consumption.

We need to wake up.

Earth is a rare gem—maybe the only one like it. We’re not just one in a million. We’re one in **a billion trillion trillion**. That’s a one followed by 33 zeroes. How is that not a miracle?

We sit at the perfect distance from the sun—not too hot, not too cold. Just right. This planet gives us everything: food, shelter, medicine. Forests heal us. Oceans sustain us. It’s no accident. It’s all connected.

Every living thing, from flowers to fish, shares a thread in this web of life. We are quite literally one family.

But somewhere along the way, we forgot. And that’s the real crisis—not just climate change or pollution or industrial farming. These are symptoms. The real problem is **us**—our disconnection.

We’ve lost our relationship with the natural world. Corporations feed us distraction and division, hoping we stay asleep. But people are waking up. And many are realizing: this is not okay. This is not the legacy we want to leave.

We can’t let greed and ignorance write our story.

I believe everyone should have the right to clean water. Safe food. Fresh air. Trees to walk beneath and nature to marvel at. These aren’t luxuries. They’re basic rights.

And no politician should be deciding whether we get them.

They want us to feel small and powerless—but never forget: a butterfly flapping its wings can trigger a storm across the world. When enough of us rise together, we can change everything.

We can build a future filled with care, connection, and freedom—for people and planet alike.

But it starts with *you*. Yes, you—right now.

Time is running out.

And only together can we make it to that **fourth second**.

Just a whole load of noise at bedtime