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Forest Retreat
master students of Art Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, under the mentorship of artist and architect Polonca Lovšin, in collaboration with the City Council Initiative and the Maribor Art Gallery

Maribor, like other urban centres around the world, is facing rising temperatures and heat islands. The most effective natural solution to overheating is to plant more trees. It is not enough to plant just a few trees, so there are a growing number of initiatives proposing the planting of urban forests. These, besides cooling the urban centres, create many positive effects for the citizens and the cities, such as increasing biodiversity, cleaning the air and reducing noise. The cities of the future will need far more urban forests.

Forest Retreat is a project in collaboration with the City Council Initiative, which planted the first Miyawaki grove in Maribor in November 2020. The mini forest was planted for the future as an attempt to reduce overheating in the city as well as other problems caused by climate change. The Miyawaki grove is still young and fragile and needs our attention. Provided by the wooden bench project, people can observe the young grove undisturbed and watch it as it transforms into a forest. With the Forest Retreat project, we are creating a tribute to the forest and highlighting its importance for the future of Maribor and all its inhabitants. 

The project consists of two benches and a bench plan. One bench is placed in front of the Miyawaki grove; the other is placed in front of the former MTT Melje factory. Visitors to the EKO 8 Triennial can also manufacture their own bench, as prints of its construction plan are free to take away. After the exhibition's closing, the second bench will also be moved to the Miyawaki grove.   

Participants: Nika Bizjak, Sara Cetl, Katja Čepe, Zala Česnik, Tjaša Kovič, Tina Krivec, Martina Mir, Mihael Novak, Tjaša Ornik, Paula Perčić, Regina Potočnik, Magdalena Sklepić, Sara Urankar, Nuša Urbanček, Ana Zmrzlak

Forest Retreat is one of the collateral environments of EKO 8, International Triennial of Art and Environment.