• Head outside to find a comfy place for your crew to relax and ‘tune in’ to the environment with their senses. Space out to claim your own unique ‘soundscape’.
  
  
• Invite everyone to take in a deep breath and open up to the sounds all around.
  
  
• Tell folks they will be drawing a sound map of the ecosystem that surrounds them. Have them make an “X” in the middle of the page to represent themselves. 
  
  
• Explain that each time a sound is heard, a symbol of that sound should be drawn on the map relative to where the sound occurred and their “X”. For example, if they heard a bird chirp in a tree to their left, they could draw a musical note as close the chirp felt between their “X” and the left edge of their map. Tell them they can choose any symbols they want to represent sounds: i.e. pictures, shapes, words, squiggly lines, etc.
  
  
• After several minutes of listening and recording, gather back together to share each other’s maps, symbols and sound discoveries.

Have fun comparing and contrasting each other’s ‘ecosystem symphony experience’ by asking questions, like:

• What was the most surprising sound found?
  
  
• Where was the loudest or quietest place on your map, and why?
  
  
• How far would you have to go to find no human-made noises, or absolute silence?
  
  
• How does ‘deep listening’ feel? Welcome? Unnatural? Calming? Awkward?