Sound Pools

As part of Listen to the Voices of the Fen, the installation ‘Sound Pools’ was created by Kathy Hinde and launched on 18th July 2024 to mark World Listening Day, and was enjoyed by visitors to Wicken Fen throughout the summer until the end of September 2024.

Sound Pools invited visitors to immerse themselves in the unexpected and intriguing underwater sounds of Wicken Fen; the chirping sounds of underwater invertebrates, the crackling sounds of fish, and to become curious about sounds hidden deep inside the peat where carbon and time are held. Recordings were made throughout the first half of 2024 to explore the underwater and underground soundworlds through the seasons in celebration of Wicken Fen’s 125 year anniversary.

A canvas covered hemisphere with skeletal wooden frame suspended overhead in the tree canopy

SOUND POOL 1

Includes recordings of bubbles rising in the ditch next to Sedge Fen, (recorded underwater in February 2024) combined with underwater sounds where Wicken Lode joins Monks Lode, recorded in June 2024, where there were many fish visible in the water.

SOUND POOL 2

Includes recordings of rain on Wicken Lode recorded underwater and above water in May 2024; underwater sounds at Drainers Dyke recorded in June 2024; underground recordings made 3 metres deep into peat on Sedge Fen recorded in June 2024 and underwater sounds in the ditch behind the old wind pump on Sedge Fen recorded in July 2024.

SOUND POOL 3

Includes recordings made underwater at Brick Kiln Pond made in February 2024 and recordings made underwater at the pond between Sedge Fen and Roger Clarke Hide during June 2024. There is a further opportunity to listen to hidden underwater Voices of the Fen on headphones inside the Roger Clarke Hide.