Montnegre i el Corredor, in Barcelona, ​​becomes the first 'park of silence' in Spain

Listen to the silence.

Or the closest thing to silence: the song of the birds at dawn, the language of the leaves in the forest, the sound of water in the streams, the cricket of crickets in the dark ... The natural sounds that so much we strive to 'cover' humans with what we call noise.

It is not enough to breathe fully or admire beauty with your eyes. Total immersion in nature is only possible if it is accompanied by that auditory and sensory experience that

, the American acoustic ecologist,

knows so well

. Hempton went around the world seeking natural silence and has now wanted to give a new dimension to his work with Quiet Parks International, the organization that aspires to create

.

The world's first urban 'park of silence' was the

, on the outskirts of Taipei and with the backing of the Government of Taiwan, coinciding with Earth Day 2020. Last September, the initiative reached Europe, with the recognition obtained by

, the oasis of North West London where you get the wonder of forgetting that you are in the city.

The turn has now come to the Parc del Montnegre i el Corredor,

, the first 'park of silence' in Spain.

The initiative has been possible thanks to

and her students from the Higher Course in Green Pedagogy, a postgraduate training for human development in contact with nature.

Due to its proximity to the city and the influx of visitors, Heike Freire's students decided that "Montnegre deserved it" and took action, taking decibel measurements at different points in the park and finding areas of total immersion in nature.

The park, photographed on October 9 during the Montnegre Heartbeat event Heike FreireParc del Montnegre i el Corredor

"I must say that this park has exceeded my expectations," acknowledged

, executive director of Quiet Parks International, based in Sweden, during the

which celebrated the recognition for the park in early October. "Millions of people live an hour from here. And yet the park offers a true sense of wildlife in the middle of one of the most densely populated areas in Spain."

Ulf Bohman made a symbolic presentation of the award to the director of the park,

, who announced his intention to make Montnegre "even quieter" and encouraged other parks in our geography to follow the path of acoustic ecology and seek the Quiet Park distinction, which will soon be extended to Dender-Marke in Belgium, four parks in Stockholm and several spaces (still under evaluation) in Paris, New York, Toronto, Brisane and Wellington, in New Zealand.

The

was something like an expedition towards natural silence, in this space of more than 15,000 hectares between two massifs in the Catalan coastal mountain range. "It was an occasion to lower the external and internal noise that we bring from the cities and seek that fusion with the forest", recalls Heike Freire. "We have to relearn to relate to nature, and leave out that feeling of anxiety sometimes we move to protected spaces."

"Just as in nature there is no garbage, because everything is recycled, there is no noise

", emphasizes the pedagogue.

"On the other hand, the human being, in the same way that it generates garbage, produces noises: that is, sounds that go out of that harmony and are superimposed on top of those of others, that expel and bury them."

"Our relationship with the sounds of nature is one more and one of the most important aspect of our relationship with the Earth in general", concludes the author of Educar en Verde and promoter of the distinction of 'park of silence' for Montnegre i el Runner.

"We have to rethink that relationship urgently."

The park, photographed on October 9 during the Montnegre Heartbeat event Heike FreireParc del Montnegre i el Corredor

About 40 participants joined the immersion between cork oaks, holm oaks and stone pines typical of the Mediterranean, although in Montnegre there are also oaks, chestnut trees and beech in the high and humid areas.

The path was crossed by rituals of connection with nature and plastic, sensorial and artistic proposals, until reaching the hermitage where the participants in the day had to answer the million dollar question: "What does silence mean to you?"

For everyone, silence is much more than the absence of sounds. Some emphasized the feeling of "connection", with oneself and with nature. Others highlighted the sense of "exploration" and the comforting "relaxation" that occurs when what we call "noise" is eliminated. Others finally acknowledged their surprise at this sudden relationship with silence "on a level that we are not used to." Both of them promised to repeat the experience and invited future visitors to enjoy Montnegre with all their senses.

Dr.

spoke about the relationship between excess noise and cardiovascular and immune system problems, and also about the fear of being silent that we have created in our societies. The ornithologist

spoke of birds as our true masters of sound, for their extreme auditory sensitivity and for their ability to produce beautiful sounds that have served so much as inspiration to humans.

Ulf Bohman spoke there of the need to preserve "the spaces of silence and calm" that exist in the world, as part of "a more biocentric relationship with living beings" and to cultivate our physical and mental health. Antoni Bombi spoke of the need to incorporate "natural sound" to concepts such as biodiversity or the age of trees, to the criteria for the valuation of protected areas.

The counterpoint was put by Marc Egea, performing his own work and another in homage to John Cage, who noticed in his day how in "absolute" silence he was able to perceive two sounds, one sharp and the other low: his nervous system and his blood. circulating.

Thus, with lightning entering through the rosette of the hermitage, the day of

ended

, the first "park of silence" (relative) in our wide geography.

Soon there will be others.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Spain

• Catalonia

• Barcelona

• Belgium

• Paris

• New Zealand

• Europe

• Sweden

• London

• Environment

Chronology The flight of Puigdemont and the judicial maneuvers with which he had escaped from justice since 2017

EventsThe 'mimosas' gang falls: They stole high-end watches with violence by the 'hug' method

The walking frame An exoskeleton for my son Oscar ... and for 32 Spaniards

See links of interest

• The Palm

• Last News

• What

• Work calendar

• Home THE WORLD TODAY

• Master Investigation Journalism

• Besiktas - Sporting CP

• Bruges - Manchester City, live

• Ajax - Borussia Dortmund

• Atlético de Madrid - Liverpool

• FC Porto - Milan