Terra - Bring nature's background sounds into your room

Meet Terra, a project to bring nature’s background sounds into your home.

Before I go on, I have a question for you. If today is female, how do we start it? “Handbags?”

NO! The answer is “Kick-start-er.” Ba-dum-tsss.

So, I was browsing Kickstarter for some fun ideas on May 4th.

That’s when I came across Terra. It didn’t catch my attention at first, but I felt a strange Force that compelled me to look at it. (Guess the Force is with me).

What is it?

Terra is a device that picks up the sounds of birds and nature in your backyard, and lets you listen to it from the comfort of your couch or bed. While it does this, it builds a massive conservation network for birds. It staggers my mind but that’s the vision of its creator Scott Whittle, who also happens to be a bird expert.

I almost stopped reading at “Terra lets you listen to your backyard,” because I don’t have a backyard. But at times like this, imagination helps. I pictured a backyard hanging in mid-air, attached to my apartment on the seventh floor. Then, I continued reading.

It also says Terra will revolutionize the way we conserve nature. I get the idea, but how? Does it have courses on the app that teaches humans Nature is their mother, and they are supposed to love her? If Terra is that powerful, Greta Thunberg probably needs to find a new passion. How dare they!

Terra - Bring nature's background sounds into your room 2

Who is Terra for?

People with a backyard. Or those with rich imagination like me. Jokes aside, it is also perfect for bird-lovers and Greta Thunbergs.

Is it worth it?

One idea of this product is to connect you to the nature’s sounds. It’ll make you feel like you’ve travelled to many places, without having to step outside. An excellent idea, especially during the pandemic. I haven’t been to many places, none in the past year in fact, but aren’t people already doing that with videos?

The water sensor function is useful. Let’s see what Amazon has to say, though! You can get different kinds of water sensors for your plants on Amazon at around 10 dollars. The price of a Terra? $179!

Wait! I don’t think this is a total waste of money. Terra accepts donations for their non-profit partner Conservation Science Global, which is a good cause. I’ll try to reach Greta and tell her about the project. She might be interested.

What really baffles me is that Terra requires a phone. Why? Why would I pay for something to get closer to nature while my phone is right in my hand?

Shouldn’t nature be the place to escape from your gadgets? My phone is like my toxic ex-boyfriend. When I was with him, I couldn’t walk away. The lure of the Dark Side is too strong.

Is it an innovative way of bringing nature’s sounds to you?

By using the Terra app (What? Install yet another app?), you can connect the device to your smartphone or speaker. Once that’s set up, you can listen to the world outside your window.

Ok, here is the thing. I wake up to birds tweeting outside my window at five o’clock every morning. This probably means my ears can hear the sounds (or noise depending on how early I’m woken up) from right outside my window. If you live in New York, then all you hear would probably be garbage trucks and that homeless guy ranting about the end of the world.

It also says you can listen to wild waterfalls, oceans, rainforests and so on using the Terra app. To be honest, I was blown away. So, I went to my favourite search engine YouTube and looked up “sound of waterfalls.” What did I get?

Sound of oceans, you say?

What other sounds do you want to listen to? Natural choruses or man-made symphonies, YouTube is your best friend!

What was the question again? Innovative, you say? I can’t hear you over the sound of the oceans!

Are there any alternatives to create nature’s background sounds?

I can’t believe that YouTube is the answer. But it is. If you want to feel like you’re travelling without stepping outside, YouTube has a lot to offer.

If you’re looking for a smart sensor for your plants, Amazon is happy to help at a much cheaper price, albeit without the magical Terra app.

Your (imaginary) backyard, your choice. May the Force be with you, while you do the chores.