Leeton's Jason Richardson was invited by project lead and fellow artist Kim Goldsmith to contribute to a project she's developing called "Inhalare".

Mr Richardson decided to feature Fivebough Wetlands, an area of the shire he is passionate about having last year held an exhibition in the centre of town featuring the area.

According to Ms Goldsmith, the project is designed to more deeply explore those natural environments in our own backyards, expressing connection to them using sound recordings and writing that doesn't just describe them, but allows others to hear, smell, feel and taste them.

The second stage of the project allows for a visual response to these recordings and writings (via expressions of interest), visually representing places people can't currently physically "breathe upon", before the works are then presented together.

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Mr Richardson has put together a recording of Fivebough's sounds and it's already receiving praise as part of the project, including from Max O'Sullivan from the Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists who said he could identify many bird sounds.

"The dominant call throughout is that of the Australian Reed Warbler with a continuous warble," Mr O'Sullivan said. "The monotone call at the beginning is a Little Grassbird with Magpie Geese calls in the background and a Pee Wee in the middle."

Mr Richardson said another theme was his other audio recordings of Leeton had attracted the interest of national and international media and listeners.

"Birdsong is a feature around Leeton and I hope this recording can give locals an appreciation of the rich local soundtrack," he said.

"There's research that suggests hearing birds contributes to wellbeing ... I expect there's a lot more music to be found in our swamp given there are so many birds to hear.

"People I've shared the recording with have appreciated the opportunity for a kind of headphone-travel, which is like armchair-travel.

"Not many visitors venture into Fivebough at sunrise and, given the current circumstances with some friends still being in lockdown, I think people have enjoyed hearing a time and place that's very different.

"It'll be good to see what develops from Kim's project, as she's a remarkable artist with a keen sense for landscapes."

You can listen to Mr Richardson's recording at https://soundcloud.com/big-guitar/fivebough-swamp/s-Ve2TPxS7MFG.

Fivebough Wetlands is open for residents and visitors alike to explore.

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