From June through September Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology’s eighth annual series of guided soundwalks introduces and raises awareness of urban soundscapes in parks across Chicago. Led by a team of local artists who each provide a thematic focus based on acoustic features, my personal contribution to this partnership with Night Out in the Parks includes the “Singing Insects Soundwalk,” with Dr. Carl Strang on Wednesday, July 26. Meet us in the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary. This event is free and open to the public.
This insect themed soundwalk began in 2017 as a collaboration with the Singing Insects Monitoring Program, a citizen science project. To learn more visit the Nature Inquiries blog and read Negin Almassi’s 2022 article on listening for Legacy Magazine.
There four types of insects are among those we may say are “singing.” They are crickets, katydids, grasshoppers, and the loudest, cicadas. As noted in this recent WBEZ report (May 23, 2023), the periodical cicadas are the species that emerge in 2024 on a 13 or 17-year cycle. However, in some areas of Illinois some may emerge early.
I offer my thanks to all the new and returning artists who are making this public program possible. They include:
- Jeanette Dominguez (she/her) @sombras_iluminadas_
- Jonas Sun (he/him) @jonas_passes
- Norman Long (he/him) & Sara Zalek @normanwlong & @01saratonin
- Ro Lundberg (they/he) with Alexandra Lakind (they/she) @robonbass
- Eric Leonardson with Dr. Carl Strang (he/him) @ericleonardson
- Veronica Anne Salinas (she/they) @veronica._.anne
- Christophe Preissing (he/him)
- Paige Naylor (she/they) @paigealicenaylor
- Andy Slater (he/him) @thisisandyslater
Additional thanks go to program director, Paige Naylor; communications & marketing manager, Maddy Stocking; communications volunteer, Jakob Heinemann; and, support from the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks team. Please visit and follow Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology’s Facebook Page, Instagram, LinkedIn page, Twitter, and website to learn more. Get the whole Night Out in the Parks schedule through the My Chi Parks™ app.