From Online Discovery to Desert Research

An online search for graduate programs turned into a life-changing discovery for Anna Frisbie '26G. While exploring her options in recreation management and policy, the North Carolina native stumbled upon University of New Hampshire Assistant Professor Lauren Ferguson and her research on natural soundscapes - and soon knew she had found the place to continue her education.

"UNH stuck out to me because there was so much interesting research going on," Frisbie says. "I had been cold emailing all these recreation professors from across the country, and Lauren and Mike Ferguson (associate professor of recreation management and policy) responded and were so enthusiastic and welcoming from the very beginning. I just had a very strong gut feeling that UNH was the place for me."

In less than two years, Frisbie has gone from reading about soundscape research online to working side by side with Lauren Ferguson on a significant study at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona.

As part of a collaborative project led by UNH and Kansas State University, Frisbie helped investigate how natural soundscapes influence visitor experiences and how messaging might protect those experiences for the future. The project was supported by the National Park Service and Leave No Trace, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable recreation.

Soundscape and acoustic analysis are emerging methods in recreation research, offering park managers a new way to understand how visitors experience the environment - not just visually, but through sound. Lauren Ferguson collaborates with the UNH Center for Acoustics Research and Education, where researchers focus on how sound on land, in air, and under water can be used to monitor and assess impacts relating to national security concerns, food security, energy, environment, and health.

As part of the research effort, Frisbie spent two-and-a-half weeks in Arizona in late March/early April collecting data.

"We got to stay in National Park housing, where they usually keep seasonal employees, which was awesome. It was really nice to be right in the park," Frisbie says. "Every day, we'd wake up and head out to do our fieldwork, talking to all kinds of people and learning about their experiences. Afterward, we'd usually explore a new part of the park or go for a hike around Tucson. It was amazing. It honestly didn't feel like work."

Frisbie also made the most of the experience beyond the research, visiting the Grand Canyon on an off day.

Frisbie's fieldwork involved being stationed at trailheads with another researcher, greeting and surveying hikers about how they experienced the park's natural soundscape. Hikers were asked to rate the soundscape pleasantness and how those sounds influenced their experience.

Frisbie also walked hikers through a mapping exercise, using a tablet-based app to mark where certain types of sounds, like music or talking, felt appropriate or disruptive. In addition to engaging with visitors, she helped maintain acoustic recorders discreetly placed along the trail to capture ambient noise.

"I think it's important to know more about people's experience with sound because it's an understudied aspect of people's experience, but it does contribute a lot," Frisbie says.

A key element of the project involved testing new Leave No Trace soundscape guidelines. The team installed signs at trailheads on alternating weeks, asking visitors to lower their voices and respect the natural quiet of the park. By comparing survey responses and acoustic recordings from weeks with and without the signs, the researchers aimed to assess whether the messaging had a measurable impact on visitor behavior and sound levels.

Much of Frisbie's focus was on the mapping exercise, which is also the foundation of her thesis research. One pattern that stood out was the strong feelings visitors had about music in the park, though their opinions varied widely.

"Some people would say, 'I come out here for solitude and I don't want to hear music ever, anywhere,'" Frisbie says. "And then others would say, 'I come out here with my friends to socialize. We like playing music, and our kids like to play music, so we play it from a speaker on our backpack.'"

Frisbie believes that in addition to personal preferences, many responses reflected visitors' lived experiences and emotional associations. She also noticed that tolerance for noise tended to vary depending on location within the park. Loud talking, for instance, was more acceptable near trailheads, visitor centers, or picnic areas than it was along remote trails or at backcountry campsites.

"I think it'll help inform Saguaro National Park where soundscape signage could be most impactful," Frisbie says.

Before coming to UNH, Frisbie earned her undergraduate degree in biology and environmental studies from the University of Richmond. After graduating, she thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.

"I had a lot of time for self-reflection and my perspective started to shift," Frisbie says. "Before thru-hiking, I felt like the best way to make a positive impact on the environment was through scientific research, studying wildlife, or working in a lab. But I realized how important recreation is in forming connections to place and helping people become good stewards of the environment."

Frisbie hopes to work for the National Park Service or in a role that helps connect people to nature. She's especially interested in how sensory experiences, like sound, shape people's emotional connections to natural places and influence their environmental stewardship.

"I feel very lucky to have been part of this project. It was such a great opportunity, and I got to work with amazing people," Frisbie says. "Before coming to UNH, my idea of recreation management probably looked very different from what I've learned it to be. There are so many nuances, and soundscape research is such an emerging field. Acoustic analysis is a relatively new method in the recreation space, and this experience has broadened my view of what I could do in the future."