- New song Nature’s Cry samples sounds of plants in distress
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More than 2200 Australian plants, animals and ecosystems are threatened with extinction and the list is growing
- Jack River and ACFcall on the Albanese government to listen to Nature’s Cry and urgently make strong new nature laws
Today musician Jack River (AKA Holly Rankin) and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) have released Nature’s Cry – a song inspired by ground-breaking international research that shows that plants make sounds when in distress.
With a backdrop of sounds of Australian native animals, the song features rarely heard sounds of distressed plants from new scientific research to reveal ‘Nature’s Cry’.
The song aims to draw attention to the alarming scale of nature destruction in Australia and immortalise the sounds of threatened nature in the musical artform.
Jack River says, “Australians love nature - the outdoors is in our DNA. But more than 2,200 Australian plants, animals and ecosystems are threatened with extinction and the list is growing. We have the highest rate of deforestation in the developed world and animals like the iconic koala are now endangered because their homes are being recklessly destroyed.
“Music and advocacy go hand in hand for me. I wanted to create a song that speaks to the fact that Australian forests, wildlife and bushland are in crisis, and our nature laws are failing to protect them. I wanted to inspire others to take notice, to take action and speak up for the natural world that keeps our human environment liveable.
“We worked with the sounds of native animals and distressed plants to build a dynamic piece of music that highlights the crisis but also gives hope. If we take action now, and only now, there is a granule of hope to turn things around.”
Nature Campaigner Peta Bulling from ACF says, “Australia is one of just 17 megadiverse nations on earth. Over 80% of our unique native animals occur nowhere else. But with mega diversity comes mega responsibility and the laws that are meant to protect nature are failing. Since Australia’s national nature laws took effect more than 20 years ago, an area of threatened species habitat the size of Tasmania has been destroyed.
“More mammals have gone extinct in Australia (39) than in any other country - that’s more than the rest of the world combined - and we’re ranked 4th for animal extinctions. By partnering with Jack River to create the song Nature’s Cry, we want to let people know that nature is in trouble and it needs us now.”
The new song was inspired by recent research which allows humans to hear the ultrasonic sounds that plants omit when distressed, associated with nature destruction. The sounds are featured within the Nature’s Cry song.
In conjunction with the release of this groundbreaking song, ACF is building pressure on the Albanese Government to urgently create and enforce strong national environment laws that will actually protect nature and help to fulfill the government’s goal of ‘no new extinctions’.
ACF research shows more than 90% of threatened species habitat destruction in Australia has occurred without any federal approval or any attempt to seek approval. Across Australia, approximately 500,000 hectares or more of bushland is bulldozed annually.
You can sign the petition for laws that protect nature at www.acf.org.au/environment-laws-petition.
