Out of a landfill has sprung a remarkable recycling phenomenon - an entire orchestra made from waste. "Los Reciclados" (the Recycled Orchestra) is the brainchild of Favio Chavez here and the setting is the town of Cateura, Paraguay.
What a brilliant testimonial of the spirit and adaptability of human kind. Another step forward in the battle against waste pollution with flair!
You can follow the effort on Facebook here
Marine Educators; you and your students might be interested to begin your discussion of marine pollution by creating a seaside soundscape from recycled materials. If you are feeling a little out of your depth it would be wise to see if you can collaborate with your music and art teachers.
However, an easy start is to find a flat container like an old drawer. Add a cup of beach sand to swish around. The result is much like the sound of a gentle wave on the seashore. Try other small articles to see how the sound changes. Using the Landfill Harmonics as inspiration you can begin to think outside the box a bit further incorporating hollow objects for percussion sounds or modifying them further for stringed instruments.
The resulting soundscape may well satisfy a range of curriculum requirements and provide a great accompaniment for marine studies and your stories of the sea.
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