metaViper

Connecting with nature is one of the best ways to rediscover the center of being. No, if you live by a city I’m not talking about stepping outside to listen to the traffic honking and grinding by. I’m talking about immersing yourself in the sounds of animals and plants in their natural habitats. Drifting away on the rising soundwaves of howling wolves or slipping into a deep sleep under the rustling and swaying trees are both great ways to rediscover a primal part of humanness.

Here’s a site that focuses on the preservation, discovery, and delivery of nature’s sounds and they do a great job. The Wild Sanctuary boasts “over 3,500 hours of wild soundscapes and nearly 15,000 species”. Their recordings are high quality and can make a living room feel like a jungle. The secret? Closing your eyes. Visiting the front page will start a continuous audio stream of natural noises to give you a sample.

What also caught my attention is their integration with Google Maps. Launching that part of the site opens up a brand new way to explore the world vicariously through recorded sights (if using Google Earth) and sounds. Some of the map scrolling can make the interface a bit awkward to use because the descriptor text and music can move off the screen, but I’m sure they’ll work that out as the service matures.

Earlier today I was listening to thunderstorms, this evening I just heard the bells of Notre Dame, and tonight I plan on listening to some monkeys in Africa . . . you get the idea :-}