WLR's Ours to Protect and Harvard’s Institute of Climate, Sound, and Society Collaborate on World-First “AudioMoth” Biodiversity Project in Waterford

This year, Ours to Protect launched something truly special, and a little bit groundbreaking. In collaboration with the Institute of Climate, Sound, and Society at Harvard University, WLR and 15 other independent radio stations took part in a world-first project: mapping biodiversity through sound.

At the heart of it all was a small but mighty device called the AudioMoth, a portable, weather-resistant sound recorder capable of capturing the hum and heartbeat of an entire ecosystem. From May to October 2025, one of these recorders sat quietly on the grounds of Garranbane National School in County Waterford, collecting the living soundtrack of the area.

Over six months, the AudioMoth caught it all,

the morning chatter of birds,

the steady buzz of bees,

the creaking trees howling in the wind,

heavy rainfall and the rumble of N25 traffic,

the laughter of children at play,

and eventually, the deep, patient quiet of the summer months.

Each layer of sound tells a story of life, movement, and change, a sonic fingerprint of biodiversity in motion.

Now, that rich tapestry of audio has been sent to Harvard’s Institute of Climate and Sound, where researchers will analyse the recordings to better understand how soundscapes reflect environmental health and shifts in wildlife populations. This kind of “acoustic ecology” research offers a new frontier for climate storytelling, blending science, journalism, and community engagement in one shared act of listening.

“This project shows that sound isn’t just background noise,” said Michael Byrne from WLR. “It’s data. It’s memory. It’s how we begin to truly hear the world we’re trying to protect.”

Once the audio has been documented by the team, WLR will return to Garranbane National School  to share the results with students and staff.

Thank you for joining us this year on Ours to Protect. We’ll leave you now with a few moments from Garranbane, where the wind, the wings, and the wonder of nature are still playing, just beyond the microphone.

Episode 7, That's a Wrap (for now) There’s this quiet, hopeful shift happening, not some grand revolution, but a series of small, human efforts that feel like the start of something real. Ours to Protect Two captures that. It’s about people, students, teachers, artists, business founders, all trying to figure out what sustainability actually means in day-to-day life.

The biggest challenge seems to be connection. How do you get people to care about the environment in a way that sticks? Not out of guilt or fear, but because it genuinely makes sense. The series moves from university festivals to classrooms, from rivers to communities, and everywhere it goes, you see the same question pop up: how do we live, learn, and create without wrecking the place we live in?

What really stands out is how personal it all feels. There’s a teacher in Tramore who turned a bit of schoolyard into a forest classroom, a real one, with trees and birds and muddy boots, because he knew his students would understand nature better by being in it. There are students at SETU thinking about green business ideas not as side projects, but as the future of how we work. And there’s this floating barge in Waterford, part art studio, part science lab, where people come together to talk about climate change in a way that’s actually… human.

We also learned that sustainability isn’t just about the environment, it’s about mindset. It’s about asking, “Why do we buy so much stuff?” or “Where does it all end up?” That moment when you follow a pair of old jeans halfway around the world? Yeah, it hits differently when you realise your closet has a carbon footprint.

What ties all these stories together is this sense that change doesn’t happen through perfection, it happens through curiosity, creativity, and a bit of courage. None of these people have all the answers, but they’re doing something. They’re experimenting. They’re making mistakes and learning from them.

And that’s what gives us hope. Because for all the climate headlines and anxiety out there, there are also classrooms, barges, and local projects proving that we’re capable of better. The future isn’t some distant thing someone else will fix, it’s something we’re shaping now, piece by piece.

Protecting the planet isn’t a job for experts. It’s a job for all of us, messy, imperfect, and honestly, kind of exciting.

To listen back to the Ours to Protect series – check out our Climate and Sustainability page here https://www.wlrfm.com/climate-and-sustainability-programming

Ours To Protect is funded by Coimisiún na Meán with the Television Licence Fee and is a partnership between WLR and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland.

In episode 6, Creatives and Climate Change. We hear about at the marriage of the arts, sustainability and biodiversity. 

How one artist is creating work to draw attention to the amount of "stuff" we continue to surround ourselves with, and how art, biology and community have come to raise awareness about the importance of Seagrass on our doorstep, the back strand in Tramore.

In Episode 5, we discuss Consumer Fashion. We all have so much stuff! What is this need we seem to have to keep buying? Where did it come from, and when did it start? 

Sociologist Dr Jill O'Mahony of SETU provides a brief history of consumption and consumerism. Where do our clothes really end up when we put them into a clothing bank? 

We follow the journey of a pair of jeans from Ireland to the other side of the world. 

Ours To Protect is funded by Coimisiún na Meán with the Television Licence Fee and is a partnership between WLR and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland. See www.ourstoprotect.ie for more details.

Episode 4: Slí.This month, we're taking a look at the work of Slí, whose principal belief is that in working together, we can ensure an equitable and sustainable future for all. Slí is focused on driving sustainability through education and inspiring action at a community level.    Its mission is to educate and empower the people of Ireland to take action on issues of sustainability, responsible consumption, and climate change.

Imagine a barge moored on the River Suir in Waterford city centre. A barge where artists and scientists come together with local communities to work together to tackle climate issues.  In this month's programme, we hear from Edel Tobin, the woman behind the Floating Voice project.  She tells us how the idea of building this barge came about  and how reconnecting people with local waterways through art, science, and community action can lead to real change 

For episode 2, Forest Classroom, we pay a visit to Ard Scoil na Mara secondary school in Tramore to hear about an exciting new outdoor development that not only provides a space for nature and teaching but enhances the lives and well-being of the students.

We talk with science teacher and environmental activist Patrick Kirwan, who is leading the way when it comes to climate change action in the classroom.   

Episode 1: Inspire Fest SETU.

What is green entrepreneurship?

How do you encourage it?

Is it nature or nurture?

These are some of the questions raised at the recent Inspire Fest at SETU.

A festival run by the Growth Hub at the university. A hub specifically set up to encourage young students to explore business ideas they may have. In this programme, we hear from one student whose passion is sustainability and the circular economy, along with her mentors and businesspeople who have paved the way in the green economy