Connecting with Birds and Nature:

One of our most inspiring partnerships brings together music, birds, and community transformation in the Peruvian Amazon. Through Asociación Ecosistema Sinfónico (Symphonic Ecosystem Association), we’re working with the Network of Children and Youth Symphonic Bands of the Amazon—a pioneering initiative in Latin America—to reimagine how young people connect with their natural world.

This project takes a beautifully unconventional approach: children and youth from Amazonian communities are learning to truly hear their environment by translating birdsong into music. Students have selected six local bird species—chosen for their distinctive, recognizable songs—and are composing musical pieces inspired by these sounds, drawing on recordings from the Macaulay Library. So far, they’ve musicalized the Scaly-breasted Wren, Bartlett’s Tinamou, and Common Potoo, transforming the soundscape of their home into a living symphony.

What makes this collaboration so powerful is how it weaves together artistic expression, environmental awareness, and cultural pride. These young musicians aren’t just observing birds—they’re developing a deep aesthetic appreciation for the natural and cultural soundscape that surrounds them. In communities facing significant socio-environmental and economic challenges, this project creates space for children and youth to become protagonists in conservation, using their creativity to celebrate and protect the incredible biodiversity of the Amazon. It’s community-led conservation at its most innovative: grounded in local knowledge, driven by young voices, and amplified through the universal language of music.

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