Places with natural quiet are also important to animals, says Jesse Barber, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Boise State University.

After the Great Quiet descended during the COVID-19 lockdown, we saw what the power of silence could do—to our overstimulated brains and to the natural world. It was so quiet from March to May ...

He’s part of the non-profit organization Quiet Parks International, which aims to identify and preserve the planet’s last quiet places. It’s not an easy task.