Fish Creek Soundwalks with Chad Eastman

In partnership with New Works, be part of this two-year soundwalk residency program!

We’re thrilled to support Chad’s ongoing research into acoustic ecology and place-based education. We’re excited to partner with the Friends of Fish Creek Park to offer Chad a research-creation residency, as well as a supported 8-walk series!

From New Works:

Chad Eastman (He/Him) is an artist, outdoor educator, and wilderness guide located in Moh’kinsstis. He is interested in aesthetic approaches to environmental education and employs soundwalking as a research methodology. Chad is passionate about thinking and moving with land to explore the boundaries of mind and body.

Through a series of serendipitous events, I was approached by New Works last year with an opportunity to lead a soundwalk. I took the chance and – ran – to design a mini-series of seasonal soundwalks in Fish Creek Provincial Park, exploring how the soundscape of the park has been altered by Anthropocene impacts such as human-induced climate change and toxic colonialism. Through the continued generosity and support of New Works, I have been granted another opportunity to listen more closely to the Fish Creek soundscape, and share that experience with the public. For this series, I will be leading 8 soundwalks which guide participants through embodied experiences of soundwalking as transformative for self, society, and spirit. Themes include soundwalking as: emotional regulation and mindfulness practice, acts of political resistance, and religious or spiritual experience. For each theme we will investigate what role listening and walking play separately and together, as the two collaborating elements of soundwalking. The Anthropocene impacts already present in Fish Creek form the context for the themes of this series: How does listening help us regulate the climate? Where does soundwalking fall in the history and present of walking as resistance? What role does spirituality have in (acoustic) conservation? For those more interested in listening than talking, there will be two soundwalks in which participants will be invited to fully immerse themselves in the listening/walking experience, resisting the temptation to fill the soundscape with conversation, for the entire duration of the walk. Think of it as a mini silent/moving meditation. I hope you will join me for a walk in the coming months. – Chad Eastman

Guided soundwalks will take place November 2025 through June 2026, on the third Sunday of each month.  The locations within Fish Creek Park will change, but each walk will be in the park.  Unlike previous seasons, the time of each walk may vary through this series.  We’re looking forward to some special offerings from Chad at different times of day!  We’ll update times and locations as we confirm them.