The title above is the name of a research article taken place in the US to explore the relationship between health benefits and natural parks, more specific in national parks. This study has a scientific methodology and concludes with actual data calculated by complex data meta-analysis techniques, cross sectioning from data of studies of several parks across the country. This article is quite different to other sound research articles I had read in the past. I had focused more in art orientated research and experimentation, that focus more in empirical knowledge and art aesthetics. In the other hand this article is scientifically based and its analysis is very methodological.
The article evidences that listening to the sound ecology of a national park can bring health benefits. The study demonstrated that when noise pollution levels are low and a wide variety of natural noises dominate an ecology, an individual can reach calming moods by a reflection of the non-threatening environment.
An important objective of the article is to demonstrate the importance of the sound ecology of a place and that it should be taken into consideration in natural conservation projects. The article explains that it is really easy to disrupt the sound ecology of a place and that in some recordings done for the research of the article, they found out that even in natural reserves, traffic noises could contribute with over 80% of the sound ecology. The article also highlights that it is proven that audio pollution can have damaging effect on health.
After reading this and learning the health benefits of a natural sound environment, I decided to focus my field research to natural areas across London. This will increase my chances of finding people that actively practice their own DIY sound practices. I also want to ask to these people if they think that sound can create health benefits, to see if their practices have health as an objective.