YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE FOREST
The Classroom as a Space for Transformation
All 23 teachers from the 12 schools participating in Ears to the Forest found creative and meaningful ways to introduce their students to the concept of deep listening, integrating it into their subjects and territorial realities. Inspired by the workshops, they transformed their teaching practices to foster a more conscious and sensitive relationship with Nature within the school environment.
Among the many experiences that emerged, at El Verjón School, a teacher took her students to the Cruz Verde páramo, where they improvised together with musical instruments in a collective experience of gratitude for the sounds of the ecosystem.
At Gloria Valencia de Castaño School, the teaching team adapted the curriculum for a week to work transversally on environmental stewardship, promoting values and skills oriented toward sustainable development in their students.
These are just two examples of the commitment and creativity with which the teachers supported their students in this process. Throughout the project, many reorganized their schedules, proposed new activities, and enthusiastically enriched the path of deep connection with their territories.
The students' participation was deeply moving. They approached the project with a mixture of curiosity, joy and wonder, exploring Nature with fresh eyes and attentive ears. Every outing, every recording, and every moment of listening became an opportunity to connect with themselves and their surroundings. Their boundless energy, genuine questions, and sense of wonder revealed a sensitivity that is often hidden in everyday life. “Ears to the Forest” awakened in them not only a desire to care for their surroundings, but also an awareness that listening is a way of inhabiting the world with greater attention and depth.
Selection of Recordings and Artistic Creation
Listen to a selection of audio clips created by the students, emphasizing their creativity and attention to the recording techniques learned in the workshops. We also invite you to explore the Image Gallery, which details several workshop stages. The beautiful and fun process illustrates the potential to spark something, not only in the students, but in the teachers themselves.
A curation of some of the writings, drawings, photos, and videos created by the students from the following schools: Campestre Monte Verde IED, Mochuelo Alto, Pasquilla IED, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, San Martín De Porres IED, El Verjon IED, San Cayetano, Gloria Valencia De Castaño IED, Jaime Garzon IED, Nuevo Horizonte IED, El Destino IED, Colegio Rural José Celestino Mutis IED
Student Testimonials
“Nature has sounds that are inaudible to humans, but for animals they can be something quite incredible.”
- Student from Gloria Valencia de Castaño School
“If you look at nature, you notice it exhibits certain behaviors. The climate itself, the biodiversity, and the health of the Earth reflect what it is trying to tell us. Too much city, too little Nature, too little life, too little listening. More Nature, more life, more resources, more animals.”
- Student from Gloria Valencia de Castaño School
“For me, the sound I would like to save and repeat a thousand times is that of one walking through dry leaves…” “I feel that each one of us carries Earth inside our body.”
- Student from Gloria Valencia de Castaño School
Ears to the Forest is part of Sounds Right, an initiative of the United Nations Museum - UN Live and partners like VozTerra that allows Nature to generate royalties and funding from its own sounds.
The Ears to the Forest project was funded by the Udenrigsministeriet (Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the Museum for the United United Nations -Live.
