Bringing together fundamental sciences, philosophies, cultures, and the arts to strengthen the human–plant relationship, reduce eco-anxiety, and foster eco-resilience and eco-responsibility

Faced with forest fires, plant extinctions, and rapidly changing ecosystems, eco-anxiety now affects up to 70% of young adults. But what if we could transform this anxiety not through fear, but through beauty? This project offers a new way to reconnect with the living world: a sensory encounter between humans and plants, shaped by art, digital technologies, and knowledge from multiple traditions.

Drawing on plant sciences, neuroscience, Western and Asian philosophies, and Innu Indigenous knowledge, the team is developing two complementary experiences. The first is a musical pathway at the Montreal Jardin Botanique, featuring original compositions created from the electrical signals emitted by plants. The second is an immersive audiovisual show at the Biodôme, revealing the rhythms, complexity, and resilience of plant life—from the cellular scale to entire forest ecosystems.

These interventions combine aesthetic emotions with learning—two essential levers for transforming eco-anxiety into eco-resilient and eco-responsible behaviours. They are created within a learning ecosystem — a living laboratory — that brings together researchers, artists, philosophers, Indigenous representatives, practitioners, and visitors of the Botanical Garden.

The project brings together contributions from:
– Université de Montréal: IRBV, AgeTeQ, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Music, Neuroscience and Engineering.
– Espace pour la vie (City of Montreal): Botanical Garden and Biodôme.
– Visual artists and musicians.
– An Innu territory guardian.

This project is funded by the NFRF, which supports its ambition: creating new ways of experiencing the living world to inspire lasting action.