One Square Inch of Silence: Preserving and Recording the Sounds of the Rainforest

Quiet places are rapidly becoming extinct on our planet as noise pollution pervades even the most remote wilderness areas. The silence preserve, One Square Inch, was created to protect the natural soundscape of the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park, as well as to educate people about the importance of listening. Matt Mikkelson will speak about recording, analyzing and preserving soundscapes at One Square Inch and other quiet places, and his efforts to promote environmental conservation and assist people in finding and experiencing the silence that humans need to follow healthy, fulfilled lives.

Matt Mikkelson is a sound recordist, audio engineer, and documentary filmmaker. He has worked as an engineer, sound designer, and producer on two award-winning documentaries, but has devoted most of his professional career to observing, recording, researching, and preserving natural soundscapes. Matthew graduated from The Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, New York, with a degree in Audio Production. He also serves as an advisor for the organization One Square Inch, which aims to protect Olympic National Park from noise pollution. He is the owner of Hayloft Audio and the Co-Founder of Spruce Tone Films.