The Listenn project is an interdisciplinary media arts project, investigating the pristine acoustic ecologies of Southwest deserts of America. Establishing the largest database of ambisonic and stereo field recordings of the Southwestern landscapes of the United States, the Listenn project is designed to not only archive sound, but to explore how virtual environmental engagement through media arts and sound can cultivate environmental awareness and community agency. It delivers community partnerships and capacity building with enthusiastic communities in four American Southwest desert communities: Joshua Tree, Sequoia & Kings Canyon and Organ Pipe Cactus National Parks and the Mojave Desert Trust. Aiming to empower and encourage communities to make creative contributions to and have agency in the development of the Listenn project, this paper outlines the fieldwork undertaken in 2014 and 2015 and discusses the substantial online listening database, virtual reality and web based tools deployed and currently in development. It will also provide information on the project’s innovative application of ambisonic audio recording and playback to create 360-degree immersive experiences online and through the Oculus Rift VR headset (EcoRift).