UC Santa Cruz

Bugging Out To Save Trees

If UC Santa Cruz music professor David Dunn scores a hit with his latest composition, he’ll have millions of listeners, maybe even hundreds of millions. But they won’t be spending a dime, and they won’t be singing or dancing. They’ll be dying. For ten years, Professor Dunn has created music using sounds in nature, specifically the sound of bark beetles in California’s forest as they munch on trees. Aggressive bark beetles make a LOT of noise. They also contribute to widespread tree destruction, which has been made worse due to several years of drought. His recordings of bark beetles were turned into a CD called “The Sound of Light in Trees.”… Read More