Assessment 2 - On Country Visit and Responses by

s8151068 — 2025-09-01 00:26:34 UTC

This video captures an outdoor scene where light, trees, and a small stream blend together to create a rich, sensory space. The audio clearly reproduces the sounds of wind blowing, rustling leaves, and trickling water, creating a realistic and vivid soundscape that resembles a winter symphonia.

"The Mystery of Imperceptible Sounds"

s8151068 — 2025-09-01 00:28:23 UTC

In the deep green forest, there was a brook that was sleeping.

The river ran quietly, and no one heard it.

The wind came by one day.

"Get up, my friend!" - the wind said.

The long note boomed out and woke up the entire woodland.

The stream chuckled and gurgled like a thousand crystal droplets.

The wind and water made a sound that had never been heard before.

The trees leaned, and the leaves made a soft beat sound.

Like an audience at a hidden performance, all the animals in the forest listened.

People say that if you go into the woods in the morning, near the creek.

You will hear all of nature singing.

A song that doesn't have notes,

but with the sound of trees rustling, water, and wind.

Explanation of the story

s8151068 — 2025-09-01 00:31:20 UTC

I have blended recorded natural noises like rustling leaves, blowing wind, and babbling brooks with a brief tale about people. I want to turn everyday noises that people frequently ignore into something wonderful so that people would understand that nature is constantly talking to us. The stream in the narrative stands for life, which only comes to life when it is linked to the wind and trees. This is like a message about how everything in nature depends on each other. It also reminds me of my personal experience when I pause, listen, and sense the land as a living thing that is constantly talking to people.

s8151068 — 2025-09-02 22:08:59 UTC

I know that I am studying on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri), and Wathaurung (Wadawurrung) Elders, families, and ancestors, who have been the custodians of this region for thousands of years. I respect their Elders from the past, present, and future, and I feel the same way about other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I acknowledge their enduring connection to the land, rivers, and culture, and assert that sovereignty was never surrendered.

s8151068 — 2025-09-02 22:09:07 UTC

On Monday, September 1st, I visited Western Reserve Park in Braybrook. This is an expansive park area, surrounded by trees and open grass, used by residents for walking, engaging in sports, and relaxation. The park is inhabited by many little birds, whose chirping reverberates amid the trees, complemented by the croaking of frogs and the verdant foliage of enormous trees, culminating in a tranquil tableau.

1) Reflect on my experience

s8151068 — 2025-09-02 23:56:18 UTC

The video clearly employs the language of Music - Drama. Music is derived from the natural soundscape, such as the sound of the stream, frogs, wind blowing, and leaf rustling, and serves as background music to create the ambiance. Drama is portrayed by shifts in high-low, tense-loose sound, like when a forceful wind generates a conflict and then relaxes in the calm sound of water. Furthermore, throughout the narrative, rhythm and pause produce "movement" of emotions, giving the listener the impression that the scene is swaying and alive.

I experienced the stimulation of senses through this experience. I saw the light through the trees and the glistening water, and I heard the stream, wind, and rustling leaves like a natural symphony. I could smell damp earth, taste the humid air, and feel the breeze on my skin. My vestibular and proprioceptive senses made me aware of swaying with the trees and my body in space, while interoception deepened my awareness of calm breath, steady heartbeat, and safety. This experience strengthened my senses and created a profound connection between body, mind, and environment.

The experience felt quiet and connected but yet exciting and intriguing. At moments, the sounds made me feel calm, as if I were being held by nature; at others, the unexpected rhythms seemed dramatic, forcing me to pay closer attention to each detail, which felt secure and wonderful.

The experience brought back memories of playing outdoors, sitting by the lake or beneath the trees, listening to nature's noises and making up tales. Exposing children to various languages in an outdoor setting fosters spontaneous learning and creativity. With just sound, light, and space, children may transform nature into a "play stage" for expressing emotions, training their senses, and developing their creativity.

2) Theories connection

s8151068 — 2025-09-03 12:50:56 UTC

When I went to Western Reserve Park, I sat by a tiny creek and listened to the sound of the water, the wind, and the leaves. It seemed like nature was playing a song particularly for me, and it made me feel at ease and connected. This experience made me think of the idea of Dadirri by Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr calls "Deep listening" is a spiritual and mental exercise that helps individuals connect closely with the land and water (2002). This thought is what led me to make the storytelling "The Mystery of Imperceptible Sounds", I made the wind, water, and trees into a natural symphony, which is similar to Schafer's idea of soundscape, which any group of sounds is an auditory landscape, just as a picture is a group of visual components (2009). This let me see that the little noises of nature may also be used as creative elements. I was also influenced by the song "Wala is Life" by Allara, which talks about water as a living thing with memories and voices (2018). The connections I made in my work seem to back up Wilson's claim that “creative play in natural environments can foster empathy, perspective taking, sensitivity to life, insights into interdependence, and the development of a more peaceful and sustainable world" (2012, p.02). I know that nature is not simply a setting; it is also a "creative collaborator" that lets me listen to and share tales in many different artistic ways.

3) Future practice in Early Childhood Education settings

s8151068 — 2025-09-03 12:51:10 UTC

This experience taught me how important it is to get kids outside and into nature to wake up all of their senses. Wilson said that nature experiences not only help kids use their imaginations and think creatively, but they also help them become more conscious of the environment (2018). This helped me plan my future preschool work so that there would be more chances for kids to learn outside by playing and exploring their environment with their hands, noses, ears, and eyes. Gano & Krull also illustrate that nature is the best place for the eight sense systems to grow, which helps make critical brain connections and life skills (2020). This method is definitely different from many of the activities we do now that are more focused on learning in the classroom and utilising materials. I do not view it as a contradiction, however. I see it as a vital addition that balances formal instruction with experience learning via nature. In the future, I will combine temporal arts with sensory experiences to help the child grow in all areas: cognitively, emotionally, socially, and in their relationship with nature.

s8151068 — 2025-09-05 13:48:38 UTC

Allara. (2018, November 14). Wala Is Life [Video].

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XACgej9L80

Gano, D., & Krull, S. (2020, July). Natural Sensory Learning. Community Playthings.

https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/natural-sensory-learning

Schafer, R. M. (2009). Listen [Film]. National Film Board of Canada.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/listen/

Ungunmerr-Baumann, M.-R. (2002). Dadirri - Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness.

Emmaus Productions.

https://www.dadirri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dadirri-Inner-Deep-Listening-M-

R-Ungunmerr-Bauman-Refl1.pdf

Wilson, R. A. (2018). Nature and young children: encouraging creative play and learning in natural

environments (3rd ed.). Routledge.

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315148533/nature-young-children-

ruth-wilson