As part of the new Campbells Creek missing link project Rob Law, from Friends of Campbells Creek, has created a ‘soundtrail’. It starts at the Forest Street entrance of the walk and continues through to the end at the Campbells Creek playground.
Living alongside the creek, Rob has noticed a huge increase in use, since the missing link of the Campbells Creek walk opened. There has been at least a 600 per cent increase in use. The accompanying soundtrail was launched a couple of months ago and already scores of people are downloading and listening to it along the trail. Relevant signage along the creek is coming shortly.
Map showing the walk and where the recordings are triggered.
The technology used is a phone app called ‘soundtrails’ that you can download. As you walk, it uses GPS to trigger the audio on your phone. Walkers can listen to stories about the creek, its ecology, history and values as well sounds of nature from different times of day and spread throughout the year.
To operate the sound walk visit soundtrails.com.au/campbells-creek download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play (make sure you give it access to your location, as it is connected to your GPS), grab a pair of headphones and head down to either end of the track, open the app and once you’re in place it will take you on an incredible journey through the beautiful hidden wilderness that sits right in the middle of suburbia.
“The goal of this project is to invite people down there to spend some time, getting to know it, slowing down and listening more deeply, rather than just passing through for exercise, because it’s much more than that. Through doing this project, I uncovered all of these amazing people who live here, who have some knowledge of the creek that is specific. There are a range of different perspectives as well, from children through to people that have been here their whole lives and are in their 80s, which gives that sense of how the place changes over time as well.
I’ve been down there a lot with my kids and their friends and spending time in their world and watching how for them, they are already very immersed in it, and we kind of have this separation, but they are very much in the place. I think that’s important for adults to think about how we relearn that, there is no boundary for them between their imaginative world and what we call the real world. Being able to tap into that sense of wonder that they have and we forget about as we become adults.”
(Rob Law quoted in the Midland Express 3/7/2025)
In a two minute recording 7 year old Ralph Maguire-Law explains the life cycle of the red eye cicadas that live along the creek.
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