The Songs of the Water Summer School invited young people from Soft Touch Arts in Leicester to imagine how we might listen to and record local waterway soundscape ecosystems. Participants were taken litter-picking along the river with the Canal and River Trust along the River Soar and Grand Union Canal, and then led in a 'listener' building activity using the collected litter and hydrophones (underwater microphones). We spent a day making recordings with these along the river and then had a discussion about what it means to take responsibility for waterways (including as a person or a citizen).
The recordings and discussions form part of the Songs of the Water installation at Journeys Festival 2024, along with stories about migration from, to and by water from women from the South Asian community.