Device to listen to tree drinking

The device will be at the arboretum between 9 and 11 November

A device has been fitted to an oak tree at Westonbirt Arboretum to allow people to listen to the tree "drinking".

The sound installation picks up the noise of water being pulled up the xylem tubes behind the bark and amplifies it 300 times.

It is then played back in real time through headphones.

"The aim of the installation is to allow people to appreciate what happens inside a tree," said artist Alex Metcalf who is behind the installation.

Mr Metcalf recorded the tree at different times of the day so that people can compare the different amounts of water moving up behind the bark.

"I want to change people's perception of a tree being a static architectural object to a living entity that is constantly active and changing," he said.

The sound installation will be at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire from 9 November for two days.

Tree Listening will also be featured on BBC's Autumnwatch programme on 8 November.