The Invisible Rainforest 

More about the Invisible Rainforest

In collaboration with experiential art collective, Marshmallow Laser Feast, and working in Eden's Rainforest Biome, two augmented reality (AR) experiences were developed. Living Lens and Weather Maker visualise unseen perspectives of the rainforest, and invite you to consider what they may teach us about interconnectedness in nature and our perception of and interaction with the natural world. 

The Living Lens was created using cutting edge, environment-responsive AR to represent the plants in the Biome through the senses of different animals.
The Weather Maker was created by visualising the inner workings of a tree as an AR layer over a 360° video camera travelling up and down its trunk.

The experiences were initially developed and trialled as part of the Eden Universe research project. We are now working to make them available to the public in the future.

Find out more about Eden Universe. 

Rainforests are part of the Earth’s natural ‘life support system’; an invisible world of interconnected cycles that support life on Earth. Rainforests are under threat.

If the invisible, natural systems we rely on for fresh air, clean water, fertile soil, nutritious food, rich biodiversity, a stable climate and material recycling are threatened, so are we. Bringing the invisible into view and exploring the interconnectedness of everything can transform our understanding of the world – and how we interact with it.

Life above ground is intimately connected to the life below. Underground, a hidden world of mycorrhizal fungal threads form connections with the roots of nearly all rainforest plants. ‘Myco’ means fungi, ‘rhiza’ means root.  

The fungi feed on sugars, made far above in the plants’ leaves and help the transfer of water and nutrients from soil to root to trunk to leaf - quid pro quo. Inside plants, a ‘two-way superhighway’ transports sugar down and water and mineral nutrients up. In the soil, sugar and mineral nutrients are even passed between plants via the fungal network. 

Water up 

Water is literally pulled up the trees’ internal plumbing systems (xylem) as it evaporates out of the leaves as water vapour. This forms vast, white, sun-reflecting clouds that help cool the climate and make rain that waters lands near and far. Hence the name – ‘rain’ forests. 

Sugar down 

Carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) warms the Earth, and too much of it makes it too hot (like now). Plants capture CO₂ from the air and turn it into sugar (by adding sunlight and water). This process, called photosynthesis, releases oxygen as a by-product ‒ handy! Plants, mycorrhiza and animals (including us) use the sugar as an energy food and a building block. The forest trees, soil life and soil compost (dead stuff) are massive carbon stores. The more solid carbon compounds in the forest, the less CO₂ in the air. Cool! 

Imagine if we could look inside a tree or see the particles of carbon dioxide or water in the air. 

Would we better understand how forests regulate the climate?

Would we be more driven to protect them?

Rainforests cool the planet. However, they are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Every 11 seconds an area the size of Eden's Rainforest Biome is lost. Deforestation increases climate change and climate change, in turn, damages the rainforests – a vicious cycle. 

Lifeforms on Earth, including us, are part of the vast, invisible cycles of carbon and water that are partly driven by the rainforests. If we could see these systems, would it transform our understanding of the world and how we interact with it? Would it lead us to act to protect the rainforests? 

Our future depends on us protecting the natural world.

Visit Conserving the rainforest | Eden Project for ways you can help.