The Sounds of Humans

                After reading the Westerkamp article and going on two different soundwalks, I found that it was very hard to completely escape from the sounds of mankind.  For example, walking down Limestone Street on the first soundwalk, nothing but the sounds of traffic, sirens, and construction were heard.  This is a street most of us walk down every day but most of us, including myself, never realized that the sounds of nature have been completely overtaken by the many sounds of humans.

                When walking through the Arboretum, I made my way as far back as I could get, trying to get to a place where only nature could be heard.  I found that this was also difficult to do.  When reaching the back of the Arboretum, it still sounded as if I was sitting in the soccer stadium at the UK men’s soccer game.  Although, I could hear the songs of birds, and the rustling of leaves as they fell, it was overtaken by crowds cheering, and announcer’s announcing along with the constant sound of traffic.

After completing these soundwalks it made me reevaluate the quote made by Westerkamp, “Let us continue to listen to little cracking sticks, which, in disguise of car horns, radios, air conditioners, and tire screeches influence our daily life and subtly affect our hopes for survival in this urban jungle.”