sensory walks: Listening for Nature’s Stories
About this Event
What stories are hidden in the sounds around us? How does a place change when we pay attention to what we hear?
Join us for the next session in our sensory walks series, in collaboration with Girls Who Walk Newcastle, exploring our natural surroundings through our senses.
This time, we’ll slow down and listen.
Our sound sensory walk invites us to explore the soundscape of Ouseburn, from birdsong and rustling leaves to flowing water, footsteps, and the sounds of the city around us. Together, we’ll tune into the voices of the landscape, learning how sound reveals the relationships between humans, wildlife, and the environments we share.
During the walk we’ll:
- Explore the natural and urban sounds that shape Ouseburn’s character
- Learn how to listen for different bird calls and what they can tell us about the world around us
- Discover how birds use sound to communicate, including alarm calls, territorial calls, and mating songs
- Reflect on the impact of urban noise pollution and how it affects wildlife and our own wellbeing
- Create a collective sound map of the places and sounds we encounter
? Creative activity: Documenting sound
Inspired by the sounds we collect along the route, we’ll create artistic sound maps that capture the character of Ouseburn through listening.
Using drawings, symbols, words, and textures, participants will map the sounds they notice, from birds and insects to footsteps, water, wind, and human activity. We’ll explore how a place can be represented not only by what we see, but by what we hear.
We may also experiment with a live foley, recreating sounds from the landscape using everyday materials and objects to create a playful shared soundscape inspired by the walk.
No creative experience needed, the focus is on curiosity, observation, and finding new ways to connect with the environment.
Meeting point: outside the Ship Inn
? Nature learning
Emily Anderson, Ouse Burn Ecologist at the Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) will join us to help us explore the hidden language of birds, sharing ways to recognise common calls and understand what they reveal about the species living around us.
At NHSN, she leads hands-on conservation, wildlife monitoring, and community outreach projects along the Ouse Burn Way, working to connect local people with nature in Newcastle and North Tyneside.
Together, we’ll learn how listening carefully can help us notice biodiversity, from the birds above us to the smaller sounds that often go unnoticed.
About the Sensory Walks series
A relaxed series of nature walks creatively exploring our natural environment through the senses, slowing down, noticing more, and reconnecting with the natural world.
Each session focuses on a different sense, touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste, using guided walks, nature learning, and creative activities to encourage curiosity and connection with the places around us.
Each walk includes:
- A guided sensory exploration of a local landscape
- Simple nature learning and observation
- A creative activity inspired by the surroundings and theme
- Space to meet others and experience nature in a slower, more mindful way
These walks are open to everyone, with no art or nature experience needed. Whether you’re curious about local wildlife, looking for creative inspiration, or simply want to spend time outdoors with others, you’re very welcome.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
