Morning Listening Walk with Andrew Skeoch - 10.30am hosted by Nillumbio

10.30am
MORNING LISTENING WALK
hosted by Nillumbio

Step into the bush with Andrew Skeoch for a small-group walk — no recordings, no screens, just the landscape and its sounds.

Moving slowly and mostly in silence, you'll be invited to experience the natural world through deep listening and attentive observation. Together, we'll immerse ourselves in nature's soundscape, noticing what is often overlooked and exploring the rich connections that shape the living world.

Throughout the walk, Andrew will help interpret what we're hearing, identifying species by their calls, explaining vocal behaviours, and sharing insights drawn from decades of listening, recording and observing birds, insects, wind and other voices of the natural world.

Signed copies of Deep Listening to Nature will be available for purchase.

No prior experience is needed - just your eagerness, curiosity, and capacity for silence.
A note about the walk: the tracks are unsealed but it is not strenuous.
While your well-being is important to us and we encourage everyone to look out for one another, each participant remains responsible for their own safety and wellbeing throughout the walk.

The walk will be within approximately a 5 km radius of Panton Hill. The exact location will be shared closer to the event.

About Andrew Skeoch

Andrew Skeoch is an educator, naturalist, environmental thinker and one of Australia's best-known nature sound recordists. Over the last twenty years, he has journeyed to remote locations in Asia, India, America, Europe, Africa and the Pacific in search of some of our planet's most beautiful and fascinating sounds.

Combining his areas of expertise with a deep curiosity, Andrew explores the crucial role of sound and communication in nature and evolution. He weaves the latest scientific understandings into a fascinating celebration of the natural soundscape around us.

His intriguing presentations are supported by audio recordings made over 20 years in wild habitats the world over, and will have you appreciating nature from an entirely fresh perspective.

Andrew's recordings have featured in documentaries, installations, and films, and he has presented widely to community groups, universities, festivals, and environmental audiences. Andrew is president of the Australian Wildlife Sound Recording Group and serves on the board of the Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology.

About Andrew's book:
Deep Listening to Nature is an invitation to open our ears to the natural world.

Beginning by tuning in to the lives of creatures around us, Andrew discusses how to identify species by call, interpret their communications and find empathy for their sentience.

Part reflection, part nature and travel diary, Andrew asks the question: What does listening reveal about how the living systems of nature function, and why do birds in particular negotiate their interactions in such lyrical and extraordinary ways?

He concludes by suggesting we not only listen to learn about nature, but learn from nature. He asks how, in our current environmental crisis, we may mimic what the biosphere has achieved in sustaining life as we move toward an ecological future and in doing so, form a deeper and more personal connection to Country.

Andrew encourages us to be still and listen. Take our time. Extend our senses. Let nature get to know us, and in its own way, to welcome us.

The book is accompanied by an online soundtrack with over 250 vibrant nature recordings which bring the text to life.

https://listeningearth.com/LE/index.php

About Nillumbio

We are a small and mighty group of Nillumbikians who care deeply about the place we live.

We love this Country and are passionate about seeing our local indigenous biodiversity thrive.

We believe in the power of community connection, shared knowledge, and collective action.

Through walks, talks, plantings, and other gatherings, we invite you to join us in learning about, caring for, and celebrating this incredible place we call home.

We honour the living systems that have been successfully cared for over millennia by the Indigenous peoples of Australia.

We live with respect for Elders across this land and across time, and acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people as Traditional Custodians of this area. Sovereignty was never ceded.

We also acknowledge the plants, animals, fungi, soils, waterways, and star-filled skies.

We are committed to supporting the renewal and vitality of these interconnected systems.

www.nillumbio.org