If there’s one thing we all want more of in our cities it’s plants; soft grass, pretty flowers and shade-providing trees all make for comfy places to relax, clean the air and are just awesome. But where do we find the space for trees in our cities with all the buildings already vying for the limited space available?

Dutch collective Mothership’s answer is waterways. The group plans to install the “Dobberend Bos” (Bobbing Forest) in Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven harbor next spring. The forest will consist of 20 trees firmly planted inside of colorfully re-purposed buoys.

Concept of the floating forest to be installed in Rotterdam
Image via inhabitat

The group was insired by Colombian artist Jorge Bakker’s “In Search of Habitus,” an aquarium filled with teeny-tiny model buoys and trees. Bakker is known for his sculptures and installations that put often-overlooked elements of our cities, such as water and wind, into the foreground.

Bakker’s “In Search of Habitus,” the piece that served as inspiration for the Forest.
Image via inhabitat

After years of toying with the idea and experimenting with prototypes, the Motership designed a small floating forest that they’ll install in Rotterdam’s historic Rijnhaven. The harbor will host model projects in floating architecture until 2018.

“These miniature trees floating on the water raise questions about the relationship between the city dweller and nature,” according to a statement on the Dobberend Bos website.
Image via inhabitat

The city’s tree bank will provide the plants, and the 20 required buoys will be repainted and adapted by Mothership members. The harbor’s brackish waters won’t be allowed to reach the trees, Dobberend Bos website reads.

“These miniature trees floating on the water raise questions about the relationship between the city dweller and nature,” the website goes on to state.

“What does a city dweller have with nature and how humans and nature relate to the world around them?”

The project is scheduled for implementation on March 16, 2016.