Migration is a necessity, both for wildlife and humans. Ecological processes operate in cycles and are the stimulus for migration. War, famine and destitution mean people must move in order to survive. Despite the necessity for migration there is a contrast in perceptions between the wonder of a “natural” animal migration and that of people. In the UK, immigration is deeply politicised and used to deflect away from the shortcomings of an inept Tory government and to progress a right-wing, white-supremacist agenda. A disassociation between people and the environment and differing perceptions of occurrences which exist in parallel are the focus of this new piece by A. Whyte and Louise Wilson.

Louise Wilson graduated from the University of Glasgow with an MRes in Ecology and Environmental Biology in 2017, and is now working towards a PhD in Marine Science at the University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Lab. Her research investigates the impacts of anthropogenic noise on coastal marine life, looking at changes in the soundscape across space and time and how these disruptions can mask communication between members of a species, cloud out habitat cues, and disrupt ecosystem processes. She is interested and keen to engage with those similarly interested in the role of sound art and field recording for reconnecting human societies with ecological processes.