Moving Forest

A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts playfully travels throughout the city, stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces. Follow their eight-week journey throughout the city – from The Bentway, to YZD at Downsview, to the Waterfront – enjoying pop-up readings and performances along the way.

Join these trees on their epic journey across Toronto’s waterfront! We are looking for dedicated and neighbourly volunteers to grab a cart and assist the roaming forest in its travels.
Sign up here to volunteer with us!

By NL Architects
Presented by The Bentway in partnership with YZD
With support from Harbourfront Centre

City dwellers have long appreciated trees for their beauty, but these familiar green features are often undervalued as critical urban assets – they help cool the environment, protect against flooding, capture carbon, and provide essential shade. Trees are also a barometer of equity in an urban setting. Too often, new communities are built with insufficient space for planting and without the necessary resources to ensure that trees can mature and thrive.  Recognizing the need for more tree cover and thoughtful placement The City of Toronto has set an aggressive goal of raising its tree canopy by 40 percent by 2050, but it is important that the distribution of these new plantings extend the benefits trees offer to all corners of the city. 

NL Architects’ Moving Forest (Amsterdam, NL) calls attention to the critical physical and mental health role that urban trees play. The playful installation sees a flock of 50 trees strapped in shopping carts travelling throughout the city, stopping to create impromptu canopies in several exposed plazas. Over the course of this 8-week project, Red, Silver and Sugar Maples mingle with Autumn Blaze. The project reminds us that as our cities continue to warm and densify, we must ensure that we are prioritizing green infrastructure along with grey.  

Moving Forest is also a powerful point of connection, linking established and evolving public spaces throughout the city. The forest begins its journey at YZD, illustrating the role that trees will play in the revitalization of the former Downsview Airport lands. It then touches down at The Bentway Studio before journeying across the waterfront, enlivening and sheltering large-scale plazas at both the Waterfront Neighbourhood and Harbourfront Centres. In each location, the public is welcomed to join readings and performances beneath the forest leaves or simply seek relief from the summer sun. The mobile trees are reconfigured daily in response to the changing angle of the sun. At the end of the season, the trees will be planted permanently in public spaces across the GTA. 

This summer, The Bentway invites you to follow the forest on its travels throughout Toronto to and celebrate the urban trees in your neighbourhood.

What to expect

  • A mobile project featuring 50 trees planted in shopping carts, traveling across Toronto. 
  • Public events, such as readings and live music performances, will activate the project at each destination – see each stop’s event webpage for details.
  • Benches and seating available nearby for those who require.

locations

  • Moving Forest @ YZD

    See you at YZD, May 23 to June 15! A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts travels throughout the city, stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces.

    Moving Forest @ YZD
  • Moving Forest @ The Bentway Studio Terrace

    See you on the Studio Terrace, June 17 to July 4! A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts travels throughout the city,  stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces.

    Moving Forest @ The Bentway Studio Terrace
  • Moving Forest @ Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre

    See you at the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre, July 7 to July 11! A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts travels throughout the city,  stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces.

    Moving Forest @ Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre
  • Moving Forest @ Harbourfront Centre

    See you at the Harbourfront Centre, July 14 to July 20! A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts travels throughout the city,  stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces.

    Moving Forest @ Harbourfront Centre

collaborators

project team

Designer: NL Architects

Landscape Architect: Carmen Busch

Curator: Ilana Altman

Producer: Ben Freedman

Artist Assistants: Layne Hinton, Joey Aguilar, Alex Chacinski, and Dan Bergeron

Software Technician: Graham Powell 

Nursery: Beech Nursery

canopy connections

  • Canopy Connections: Unity Fest

    Join us for this free event in the Moving Forest: Canopy Connections series! Moving Forest sets a unique stage for Canada’s own Hip-Hop festival with an all-day line-up of  dance battles, live hip-hop performances, a local food vendor marketplace and networking events and vibes for all ages. Learn more. City dwellers have long appreciated trees for…

    Canopy Connections: Unity Fest
  • Canopy Connections: Dancing in the Square

    Join us for this free event in the Moving Forest: Canopy Connections series! Learn new dance moves and strut your stuff to a live band by the water’s edge and a special edition amongst Moving Forest! From salsa to swing, soca to samba, grab a friend and join us for a fun-filled evening of social…

    Canopy Connections: Dancing in the Square
  • Canopy Connections: Community Pop Up with Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre

    Join us for this free event in the Moving Forest: Canopy Connections series! Join Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre community members for a vibrant afternoon of activities amongst the tree canopy and gardens, including a scavenger hunt, fitness demonstrations, and steel pans performances. Let’s surround Moving Forest with love and care from our dedicated community  and foster…

    Canopy Connections: Community Pop Up with Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre
  • Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy

    Students from The Taylor Academy – Canada’s leading classical music training program – share their music.  Enjoy their showstopping virtuosity under the cover of the Moving Forest canopy and enjoy a beautiful sunset that will sweep you into the weekend. 

    Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy
  • Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York

    Listen to family friendly stories that have been carefully selected to get you thinking about the significance of trees and the principles of shade equity.  Enrich your learning through interactive games and activities delivered by Fort York library staff.

    Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York
  • Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy

    Students from The Taylor Academy – Canada’s leading classical music training program – share their music.  Enjoy their showstopping virtuosity under the cover of the Moving Forest canopy and enjoy a beautiful sunset that will sweep you into the weekend. 

    Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy
  • Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York

    Listen to family friendly stories that have been carefully selected to get you thinking about the significance of trees and the principles of shade equity.  Enrich your learning through interactive games and activities delivered by Fort York library staff.

    Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York
  • Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy

    Students from The Taylor Academy – Canada’s leading classical music training program – share their music.  Enjoy their showstopping virtuosity under the cover of the Moving Forest canopy and enjoy a beautiful sunset that will sweep you into the weekend. 

    Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy
  • Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York

    Listen to family friendly stories that have been carefully selected to get you thinking about the significance of trees and the principles of shade equity.  Enrich your learning through interactive games and activities delivered by Fort York library staff.

    Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York
  • Canopy Connections: Weekends at YZD

    What could be hiding in the tree canopy? Join artist collective, The Buck Teeth Girls Club to explore what ecosystems can exist as a byproduct of the shade, from the tops of the trees to down below the ground. Tracing shadows of the moving forest onto paper and pavement, come and draw in the spaces…

    Canopy Connections: Weekends at YZD

supporters

Presented in Partnership with
YZD

With Support from
Harbourfront Centre

Sun-safety partner
David Cornfield Melanoma Fund

Supported by
Balsam Foundation
City of Toronto
TD Bank Group
and The Bentway’s growing family of friends and supporters

With help from partners at
Save Your Skin Foundation