Emily Blunt, meet Emily Hesler (she / her). Emily Hesler scouts quiet places throughout the country as the USA representative for Quiet Parks International, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the “increasingly rare” near-silent spaces we have left.

And while she usually likes to keep things hush-hush, she called us to shout sweet somethings about the harmful effects of noise pollution, how she’s establishing a whispers-only park in NYC, and why we need to turn the volume down every once in a while.

What do you do?
I am a sound recordist for Quiet Parks International. I went to the Berklee College of Music intending to become a music producer, but I soon realized that the music industry just wasn’t the right path for me. But I was still really passionate about audio and recording, so I just translated that to my passion for nature and the outdoors. I started field recording, and that’s how I found Quiet Parks International. Right now we’re working to establish a quiet park in New York City.

A quiet park? In New York City? How?
Yeah, it’s definitely been tricky. [Laughing.] But it’s important to look there because there are so many people constantly surrounded by noise. We’ve visited several parks so far, but we’re still scouting new ones. That’s consisted of doing some research online to find potential parks in the city. After that, there’s a visit to see how we feel in those spaces, if we feel relaxed and at ease. Then we capture recordings and take sound level measurements to see if they meet QPI’s qualifications.

What are those requirements?
There are specific sound levels it shouldn’t go past. What’s been taken into consideration in New York City is that obviously there are a lot of airports around it. We’ve found a couple places we thought had potential, and then 10 minutes later, helicopters were circling the area. And aside from just what you hear, if there’s a lot of stuff happening visually, like a really busy environment with people running around, that’s not going to be relaxing, either. So we also look into places where there’s not as much activity going around.

Why should we seek out quiet places?
Just from personal experience, I live in a pretty quiet suburban area and I’m surrounded by mountains, so it’s always been really easy for me to find a quiet, natural place. Then when I went to school in Boston, that obviously is drastically different. That’s when I realized how important quiet was to me. Now working with QPI, I’ve also realized just scientifically speaking, noise can have a lot of harmful effects, so it’s really important for people to experience quiet as often as they can.

What are some of the harmful effects of noisiness?
It can actually cause cardiovascular disease, hypertension, sleep disturbance, and mental health issues [like] increasing stress and anxiety as well. The quiet reduces that stress, anxiety, and even blood pressure. It’s a really nice way to reset, like having a good night’s sleep.

How much quiet time should we get every day?
I don’t have a specific number, but just take a few minutes to include in your self-care routine. And if you don’t have a chance to get anywhere like a quiet park, a lot of times I just listen to nature sounds—whether those are things I’ve recorded or looked up on the internet. That can really help as well.

Why do you think people don’t appreciate the quiet as much as we should?
I think a lot of it is because [noise is] what we’ve grown up with. We’re just so used to it. If you grow up in a city, that’s what you hear all the time, and that’s a problem. That’s a big part of what Quiet Parks is trying to do. Quiet Parks is a movement. There’s a lot more attention being given to it now than a few years ago, but it still has a long way to go. I think with people hearing about it—and once a quiet park is established in New York City—that hopefully will garner a lot of attention so [we can] grow and expand.