Promoting Conservation through Musical Performance

Suna Ansuna means "heard, unheard" in Hindi.
This project is about voicing the unheard stories of music and nature.

We are surrounded by nature of profound beauty and complexity, but without active conservation these natural spaces will be–and are being–quickly destroyed. Suna Ansuna gives musicians an opportunity to share their most organic and natural voice by filming acoustic outdoor sessions. We then work with ecological experts, conservation activists, and artists to tell the unspoken stories of conservation in the natural spaces we visit. 

When you watch our videos, we hope you will be inspired to go enjoy nature and local music. We also want to make you think about the importance of protecting our natural environments. Watch, share, and enjoy! 

Follow us on Facebook

Latest Releases

Alan Seeger Natural Area

This is Alan Seeger Natural Area, one of the last places in Central Pennsylvania with a surviving Hemlock Grove. Hemlocks once flourished here, before an invasive species wiped most of them out. We believe music can help bring attention to areas like Alan Seeger that need environmental protection. 

We visited Alan Seeger Natural Area to film two music sessions in the Fall.  We are currently learning about the ongoing conservation efforts at Alan Seeger from local experts, and preparing a documentary about it.

---

Eric Ian Farmer at Bear Meadows

Eric Ian Farmer is an incredible local songwriter-singer. You can find him performing in State College several nights a week - check out vocallygrown.com for dates

Bear Meadows is the southern-most boreal bog and supports a very unique ecosystem.  We are excited to learn more about it from local experts!

Cold Weather Company 

Barrons to Bald Eagle Corridor
The Barrons to Bald Eagle wildlife corridor is a strip of land protected by ClearWater Conservancy to connect two conserved regions in central Pennsylvania. We captured a private concert in the woods with Cold Weather Company

A story on the Barrons to Bald Eagle Corridor (featured here)  in collaboration with ClearWater Conservancy is coming in the Spring

Nattie Lou Race at Whipple Dam

Local musician Nattie Lou Race joined us at Whipple Dam State Park, where we recorded a session and met with local conservation experts. 

Behind the scenes at Whipple Dam
​Photo by Steve Rubano 

During our visit to Whipple Dam, we learned about the history and ecological importance of the area from Park Manager Mike Dinsmore. 

​

Sun Not Yellow at Tudek Park

What's up next?

Singing the alarm

The forests of Pennsylvania host over one hundred species of birds, but some birds' habitats are being threatened by the proliferation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Marcellus Shale. In an upcoming video, we learn about research efforts to understand the implications of fracking on local ecosystem health from Penn State ornithologist Margaret Brittingham. 

A story with State College Magazine featured us, check it out in the February issue!

More sessions  coming soon

---

Who are we?

Suna Ansuna is currently a 3-person team of local State College community enthusiasts:

Sam Lapp is a masters student in Engineering Design at Penn State, a house manager at the Co.Space co-living house, plays keyboards in the local band Doppler Poppins. Sam works on the story telling, audio recording and video editing. 

Rashmit Arora is a graduate student in environmental and food economics, an audio engineer at Penn State's recording studios, and a member of NYC-based band Sea Offs and Philly-based band Palmlines. Rashmit works on all of the audio recording and mixing.

ODare is the Videographer for the channel, based from State College,PA. He is also currently a sophomore double majoring in Acting and Engineering. Instagram: _thedare

We need help with video editing. If you know someone, please reach out!

Behind the scenes at Whipple Dam (Photo by Steve Rubano)