At the Aukštumala symposium, Dr. Dr. Kallia Kefala and Kim Bode presented their ongoing research into Dainėja, an emergent presence identified within the Aukštumala raised bog. Their lecture performance combined environmental science, acoustic analysis, and phenomenological observation to explore how wetlands may function as both ecological systems and perceptual matrices.

The researchers began by framing wetlands as “liminal acoustic archives”—dynamic environments that accumulate not only carbon and water, but also disturbances, resonances, and sensory shifts. Within this framework, they traced the appearance of anomalous hydroacoustic data initially dismissed as error: low-frequency pulses, rhythmic anomalies, and tonal arcs resembling lullabies. These irregularities coincided with unexplained ecological and physical disturbances, including displaced equipment, fluctuating water acidity, and out-of-season fungal blooms.

Rather than attributing these anomalies to mechanical fault or isolated phenomena, Dr. Dr. Kefala and Bode proposed that they pointed toward a recurring, distributed modulation—what they named Dainėja. They emphasized that Dainėja is not treated as a subject to be proven, but as a relational presence that reorganizes perception and highlights ecological instability already present in the landscape. Subsequent analyses revealed structured “bioacoustic murmurs” in the bog’s soundscape. These tonal patterns were mirrored by unexpected material discoveries, such as vessel-like whistles producing the same vowel-tones captured in recordings. The team interpreted these as sonic artifacts, suggesting that Dainėja operates not through direct communication but through resonance and mimicry embedded in the environment.

In theoretical terms, the researchers positioned Dainėja as a trans-figure—a shifting condition rather than a stable entity—drawing from queer ecological theory to highlight fluidity, boundary dissolution, and distributed presence. The study emphasized the importance of ethical engagement in the absence of empirical confirmation. Instead of extraction or classification, the team advocated for “non-instrumental offerings”—gestures of care and reciprocity toward the bog and its more-than-human agents.

The lecture concluded with a participatory workshop, in which attendees created and released tactile artifacts into the wetland. This practice was framed as a methodological extension of the research: an experimental mode of response where science, story, and ritual converge.