(Sometimes a track and a publisher are so good for each other that you just throw them together. “The Birdsong Project,” a Grammy-winning 20-LP set benefiting the National Audobon Society and Sage Bava, a vegan who She grew up on an animal rescue farm, in fact she is the best companion. With her perfect story, Bava shows that she was the best choice to communicate with the rest of the people who filmed and a series of live events in Aspen, Colorado (Steve Baltin).

“For the Birds: The Birdsong Project” is an impressive and extensive collection of original music, poetry, and art about and for birds, and proceeds from the sale of this collection benefit the National Audubon Society. This superbly designed 20 LP box set features over two hundred new original works by famous artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Alice Coltrane, Nick Cave, Yoko Ono, Andrew Bird, Elvis Costello, Beck, Karen O, Tilda Swinton, Mark Ronson. and many others. This Grammy Award-winning album, for Best Box Set or Limited Special Edition, is truly special, directed by Grammy-winning music manager Randall Poster and Rebecca Reagan, who co-produced it with the main grantee National Audubon Society.

The Birdsong Project directory includes the story of how this project came to be and an inspiring project that begins: “The Birdsong Project is a project committed to protecting bird life and celebrating the joy and mysteries of birdsong. ” birds. and the cause is wonderfully supported through the arts netpaintings It is rare to see such a healthy and stimulating undertaking with so many other immensely talented people involved.

This project, which has a huge center, will share this center with the public by organizing some upcoming events. Next weekend: Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, “The Birdsong Project” and the National Audubon Society will host several events in Aspen, Colorado, celebrating art, music, conservation, and bird song! On Saturday, the day will begin with a picnic, followed by an afternoon of discussion about art, birds and conservation movements with Chad Wilsey, chief scientist of the National Audubon Society. It will be a very special weekend of celebration, ideal for people of any age to learn, believe and be in nature.

I had the opportunity to speak with the brilliant Chad Wilsey and the glorious Randall Poster in separate interviews, addressing the Birdsong Project, the next occasion in Aspen, art for conservation, and how the pandemic has been. . . An opportunity to bond more deeply with nature and birds right outside our windows. Here are moments from those conversations. – Salvia Bava

Sage Bava: I’d love to hear about the evolution of the “Birdsong Project” concept and how it has become this project, in fact, huge!

Randall Poster: This task was born during the pandemic, thanks to my friend Rebecca Reagan. We were discussing how many New Yorkers were amazed by the abundance of birds they heard because the city had become so quiet. Basically, Rebecca gave me my marching orders and we started contacting the musicians. The reaction was great and the task really took off. It was an incredibly rewarding experience that continues to grow. We have a number of systems that we’ll be collaborating on in Aspen in July.

Bava: It is desirable that anything starts with an initial concept and then evolves into this global charmer itself.

Poster: You know, people find it very relatable. It’s easy. Who would be against it, right? And if you do what you need to do to protect the birds, you’re essentially doing the same things you need to do to protect the planet. You can sidestep what has become politically charged language, like “climate crisis.” It’s also a way to push back against the degradation of the planet joyfully. You don’t have to react out of fear. You can actually react out of joy, and I think that’s something people appreciate. It’s hopeful, and birds are so beautiful. As you well know, you marvel at their capacity. How do they know to come underneath my deck to build a nest year after year? And how do they build it? It’s incredible. So, we have this unofficial motto: “We are birds.” We’re after many of the same things, and we have the ambition. It would be great to be able to fly. Rebecca and I were committed to not being political. The feeling was real, and we encouraged people to do what they can to help preserve bird life.

Bava: The union of music and nature, for me it’s the same thing. A few months ago, in an interview, Moby said something that will be engraved in my brain: “We are in nature. And the more we separate, the more damage we do. “It’s so lovely that you really spread it to kids and adults in such an artistic and emotional way.

Poster: Magnificent, yes. It is very easy to enter. And there are no rules. For example, I have a very smart friend who is a very sensible music director and we were talking about it. He said, “I love what you do, but I hate pigeons. ” I said, “It’s okay. You can hate pigeons. It’s okay. You don’t poison them. You can keep your love for pink flamingos. ” When the record came out, we had a birdhouse exhibit at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. At this event, we hosted some musical performances, adding a sound bath with Mary Lattimore and Alex Summers, who contributed to the collection. When other people started fainting more after the pandemic, we had almost 1,500 participants. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is not known for hosting these types of gatherings, unlike the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, where other people stop by for various events. It was touching to see Brooklyn hipsters crying together. As you’ve seen, other people are looking to figure out how they can be together. They must be fixed, although not necessarily in the same way as before. I think other people are looking for deeper connections that go beyond the typical dating apps, bars, or social venues.

Bava: Well, to me it just exposes our deepest reality. It shows our true selves: we are birds, we are nature. This exhibition is important and necessary. This is one of the gifts of the pandemic, even if it is such a dark time. To bring projects like these to life and allow other people to know and reconnect more with nature.

Poster: I was doing it back then and now, over time, I can reflect on it and see how it fits into the continuum of my own life. It was an obsession that I needed and sought to have. The exciting thing was that other people were so satisfied to have a mission. I don’t know if I would have had 242 contributions in a normal time. People knew that it was one of the small main points of the tragedy and that we could simply give a contribution to it. I also enjoyed making poetry. Sean Penn’s reading of Jim Harrison made me think, “It’s worth all of this just to be able to pay attention to it. We will do more. “

Bava: I’m really excited to know where all of this will take us. I’m also intrigued to ask you, for you personally, what were some of the highlights, either musically and poetically?majority?

Poster: I had the privilege of being the first user to get all the contributions. I would say my greatest joy was receiving those pieces and getting other people I love and respect so much to contribute. If you pay attention, there’s actually nothing disposable on the drive. People took the project seriously. It’s very thoughtful. We felt like other people were really involved. It has become very fun to collect so many coins. At one point I had 150 songs and my closest friends were like, “What are you going to do with 150 bird songs?” Are you going to release a 20 LP box set? When you listen to the record, you’ll see that I gave the collection to Hal Willner, who died of COVID. He’s been a huge inspiration to me and he’s put together a lot of those types of collections over the years. He used to say, “Well, how’s your collection of sea shanties going? If you’ve got 150, you might as well have 200. ” And it has become a game and it has become a laugh. Yo-Yo Ma came here to help us. I think it was the tenth song that came out. Putting all of that together and then again just being able to feel your glow when you think about that and communicate that, I mean, thank you. I’m sorry. I feel your humanity and I love it. I want this feeling in this world.

Bava: I’m sure many musicians, as well as listeners, are very grateful for the gift of learning more about this topic. All the occasions you’re planning, like the ones in July in Aspen with Chad, who I also had the opportunity to interview, sound amazing.

Poster: The events in Aspen are indeed grounded. I was talking about this last afternoon with someone who runs a giant charity and I said, “I’m so happy we’re doing something. We don’t rely on celebrity strength in this situation. We have experts involved and wonderful musical elements. We have interaction with the local community, adding young musicians in orchestras that perform pieces of classical music inspired by birdsong. I think it’s smart to be able to do things that way. We’re also looking at other options, such as a concert in Central Park with pop stars. It’s smart to have a diversity of commitments, as many other people feel uncomfortable being beginners. We inspire you to enjoy being a newbie. You have to report everything at once. Just focus on one thing at a time. If we can get other people to spend 90 seconds hunting trees a day, that’s wonderful. It’s like meditation.

Bava: I’m curious how music makes those issues more available to other people. It turns out that there is a point of interaction where other people who previously might not have been aware of those problems are now more receptive. As a scientist, do you find that other people are more engaged or more involved with the problems because of this intelligent musical lens that “The Birdsong Project” offers?

Chad Wisely: Definitely. I do not have express figures to share, however, the attention, especially with the Grammy Award that the Birdsong Project received, reinforces the importance of bird conservation. I absolutely agree that the project, by fusing birdsong with various musical genres such as classical, pop and spoken word, introduces birdsong to other people who come for the music. We hope this makes you more aware of what’s going on outside your windows. We all hear birds in the morning and during the day (they are part of our lives), but whether we perceive them depends on each individual. I totally agree that this music raises awareness and I hope it encourages other people to recognize birds more often. I think it is significant that Project Birdsong took a stand during the pandemic, as there has been a general trend of increased birding across the board during this time. The fact that we all slowed down and spent more time at home made us more aware of our surroundings, since we were not in a hurry to go to our offices or do our same old activities outside the home. This created a connection between various points combining simultaneously, and the Birdsong Project actually illustrated how all of those elements can align.

Bava: I am amazed by the scale and artistic scope of the Birdsong project, and the vast network involved is impressive. How did it feel to see so much and see this network come together so temporarily for a cause that is so vital to you and so many others?

Wisely: Yes, it is inspiring and affirming. As a scientist, you feel like you are running hard to meet enormous challenges. That’s why seeing something like Birdsong’s work come true in such a short time and with so much participation gives you the power to keep the work going. It is evident that the task and the birds themselves motivate people. Additionally, seeing musicians I appreciate get involved in a cause that is deeply vital to me is motivating. Since the National Audubon Society benefits from proceeds from the task, it is encouraging to see so many artists. and musicians passionate about birds. In fact, we have been excited about our partnership with Birdsong Project on several occasions. The Aspen occasion is just one of many this summer and we are participating with local organizations in various festivals in Aspen. I am especially grateful for the help of Isa Catto, a local Aspen artist, environmentalist, and philanthropist. Her participation is invaluable in helping Audubon advance our conservation mission.

Bava: The occasion in Aspen seems like a dream. It is desirable to see how many musicians, consciously or unconsciously, are encouraged by nature. It’s attractive that we call it “birdsong” and not “bird communication” or “bird language. ” We interpret nature as a song, and that’s how Live it. I feel lucky because I grew up on an animal rescue nature reserve and my father toured with Paul Winter and recorded whale sounds, shortening them to locate patterns. He was deeply immersed in the connection between nature and music. As a scientist, I am curious to know how we analyze bird songs and how this procedure evolves with new technologies such as AI. How is this progress transforming our ability to perceive and interpret nature?

With a clever effect: we still use classic methods, such as going out to see the songs in person and doing structured counts where we record the birds we hear and see. This technique is helping us become familiar with the diversity of bird songs, because both species have a total collection of songs, not just one. Increasingly, we employ automated recording equipment that can be placed in key locations. These sets can be configured to record commonly or to capture time clips. We can pay attention to those recordings ourselves and count the birds, or use artificial intelligence equipment. These artificial intelligence equipment is continually improving, making it less difficult to analyze and perceive bird songs. The AI ​​is very smart at identifying the most common, transparent and unique bird songs. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in detecting the less common calls and small “chip notes” used across birds. This generation is evolving and improving every day and promises to be an incredible tool for the future. For example, we can use it to record soundscapes, which can include not only bird songs, but also insect sounds and even mammal calls. This could help us measure overall biodiversity, compare other sites and track changes over time. It is desirable how this relates to the Birdsong task. Some of the assigned artists use birdsong as instruments, creating compositions that resemble immersive soundscapes. When I pay attention to those pieces, I can believe them as soundscapes of places like a forest in Costa Rica. It is a desirable way to combine the artistic and overall expression of herbs.

Bava: I’m curious, are there things you’ve learned in the last few years about birds or new exam spaces that excite you?It turns out that the odds are now wide open, with advances in studies on sensitive insects, trees, and much more. It’s an incredibly exciting time for studios, with so many new things to explore.

Wisely: I would say that the generation is creating an entirely new era for bird science. I need to share a link to the Bird Migration Explorer, which I will talk about in my statement. This tool, created through Audubon, compiles thousands of records of bird movements across the hemisphere and millions of numbers where birds were recorded during their migratory journeys. To me, this sounds like what Jane mentioned: a new learning domain that revolutionizes our conservation strategy by providing detailed data on bird migration patterns. We are still in an era of discovery where, for certain populations, we do not even know all their migratory routes. Now we can track them, assess the demanding situations they face, and discover the conservation moves needed to address those problems. This study of the golden age of bird migration is what inspires and excites me most for the future. I’d like to share a quick example from Explorer, which I’ll talk about in my release. I’ll put a link in the chat so you can see it. We can describe all the birds that pass through a certain place. For Aspen, as you can see in the tool I shared on a percentage basis, there are known records of over 1,200 species of birds that crossed and traveled to various locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and even places as far south as Uruguay. It’s just amazing and personally inspiring. I think you might understand that, Sage, given your experience in Central America. Knowing that birds make such long journeys creates a connection to far away places and highlights how we are all connected through birds. This aspect of generation and its effect on our perception of the environment is what inspires me the most.

Bava: This is an amazing map. Does much of this knowledge come from citizen scientists or is it mainly collected through scientists?

Wisely: No, it’s a mixture of both. If you check the back right of the online page I connected to, you’ll find a knowledge participant panel where you can see all the other knowledge resources used in the maps. It includes clinical studies as well as contributions from teams such as eBird, produced through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. eBird allows bird sightings to be recorded, which are then used to create distribution maps. These maps are incorporated into the tool, showing how citizen science contributes directly to knowledge. combination of everything. I would like to upload my paintings for the National Audubon Society. We are committed to protecting birds where they need them and are committed to reversing their decline by fighting the threats of climate change and habitat loss across the hemisphere.

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