Who we are

At Community Environmental Listening, we're not just passionate about preserving our planet, but also about building a community that cares deeply about creating a sustainable future. Join us as we embark on a journey where every small action makes a big difference, and let's work together to protect and nurture our environment for generations to come.

We offer workshops and a field guide to assist communities form their own local chapters of the community environmental listening project for all ages.

In these workshops we teach Passive, Directed and Active listening as a simple but powerful toolkit to direct your listening practice.

It costs nothing to the community and makes a dramatic , positive difference to how people perceive the world around them. 

We also support listening communities through a field-guide and a community portal as well as regular get together

These changes lead to a growing sense of stewardship and agency in caring for our local environments. 

Perhaps we can offer a workshop in your community?

Perhaps you would like to lead a group?

A dirt path winding through a lush, green forest with tall trees and ferns.

Meet the Team

Led by Dr. Garth Paine, this small team runs Community, Environmental Listing workshops and seeks to train the trainer so that communities across the globe can foster their own listening and their own environmental stewardship.

This website is one of our approaches to supporting the broader community and we invite you to join us in leading a local community environmental listening group. We will train you and support you to do so.

Person wearing glasses and headphones, standing outdoors in a jacket.

  • Dr. Garth Paine

    Garth Paine (https://www.activatedspace.com/) is a renowned composer, sound artist, and academic based in USA/Australia. He is known for his pioneering work in the field of sound art and for his innovative approach to creating immersive and interactive sonic environments.

    Garth has extensive experience in teaching and research, having held positions at several leading universities around the world.

    As a Professor of Digital Sound and Interactive media in the School of Arts Media and Engineering and a Professor of Music Composition in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre,

    at ASU. Garth explores the intersection of technology and art, with a focus on the ways in which sound can be used to create immersive experiences and shape our understanding of the world around us. He has created numerous installations, performances, and compositions that use sound to transform physical spaces and engage audiences in new and unique ways, including performing on their smart phones.

    In addition to his creative work, Garth is the co-founder of the Acoustic Ecology Lab at ASU (https://acousticecologylab.org/).

    He has published extensively on topics ranging from the history of sound technology to the role of sound in environmental activism, including a long partnership for conservation with the Phoenix Zoo’s jaguar corridor in Costa Rica.

    His innovative eco-acoustics work has cemented his place as a core team member in Team Limelight/Waponi which won first prize in the XPrize Rainforest competition (2024) (https://www.limelightrainforest.org  ).

     Dr. Garth Paine is a leading figure in the world of sound art and a respected voice in the academic community.

    His work has helped to shape our understanding of the role that sound can play in our lives, and his innovative approach continues to inspire new generations of artists and scholars.

    Garth is the Lead author on the Community Environmental Listening Fieldguide and the team leader for community training and outreach.

Portrait of a woman with long hair wearing a dark textured jacket and necklace, set against a light blue background.

  • Celia Yang is a Tonmeister, sound artist, and researcher exploring acoustic ecology and immersive ambisonic technologies.

    A Ph.D. student and active research assistant at the Arizona State University Acoustic Ecology Laboratory (AELab@ASU), she investigates the psychoacoustic and cultural dimensions of sound environments.

    Yang merges art, technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration to foster sonic awareness, community engagement, and ecological connection through sound. Her work spans field recordings, spatial audio design, and community-based listening practices that illuminate the relationship between humans and their sonic surroundings.

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Garth Paine
Branson Ligon

  • Brandon Ligon is a graduate student in the Biology and Society program who explores storytelling and animal experiences through environmental sound.