Birdsong makes even noisy parks relaxing

The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) announced on Thursday that it is the interplay between visual impressions and the soundscape that determines how relaxing local recreation areas are perceived to be.

The WSL researchers came to this conclusion by conducting studies in local recreation areas in ten Swiss municipalities in the agglomeration, including Malters LU, Rümlang ZH and Villar-sur-Glâne FR.

A good 300 people were interviewed directly on site for the study. They provided information on how they like the vegetation, how often they visit the area and how they perceive the background noise.

Trees, water elements and terrain modeling increase the perceived landscape quality. In addition, sounds such as birdsong or rippling water increase relaxation - even if they are added to traffic noise and it is actually louder.

According to the researchers, these results could be used in a targeted manner. "If a small park is surrounded by noisy roads, you probably can't change that," WSL environmental psychologist Nicole Bauer is quoted as saying in the press release. "But you can plant trees in it." The green space would be perceived as more relaxing despite the noise remaining the same.