The Green Train with European Sleeper
The Green Train is an interdisciplinary contemporary art program designed to deepen public awareness of, and engagement with, European landscapes. It highlights the environmental advantages of train travel, using one of Europe’s most iconic international train lines as its conceptual foundation and starting point.
Free Event, RSVP here!
The project brings together Nina Backman’s Silence Project and her environmental grassroots initiative A Million Trees to Finland, with European Sleeper and a network of environmental partners such as Life Terra, Thinking Forest Foundation, Mediamatic, Welna Estate, The Finnish Enviromental Institute (Syke), Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux, The Finnland-Institut in Berlin to create a unique, art-driven international journey. At its heart, The Green Train is a simple idea: travel more slowly, listen more deeply, and act more boldly for the planet by living more ecologically – and by planting trees. The Green Train becomes a moving venue for reflection, conversation, and creativity, with tree planting along the route and a dedicated “Tree Wagon” inside the train, gifted to all traveling passengers. The Green Train introduces an innovative way of connecting diverse partners along train routes, sharing environmental knowledge, fostering community tree planting, and showcasing contemporary art. The first seedling event is organized incollaboration with Mediamatic in Amsterdam. This collaboration blends sustainable transport, ecological restoration, and cultural engagement into a single experience — one that connects people to landscapes, to communities, and to the quiet urgency of climate action.
Aquaponics - Mediamatic has their own urban agriculture system in the form of an Aquaponics greenhouse at the Biotoop Dijkspark, near Amsterdam Central station. Aquaponics is a way to sustainably produce food in the city, because it hardly takes up any space. Plants and fish are cultivated together. The fish excrete ammonia which gets transformed by bacteria into nitrate. The nitrate serves as fertilizer for the plants. Anisa Xhomaqi
Program
- 10:00–12:00: Seedling event, symbolic tree planting and a talk of Artist and The Green Train founder Nina Backman
- 12:30–13:30: Join us for a bowl of warm soup.
Program details
The program includes a public seedling giveaway, where visitors can receive free tree seedlings. There are 400 seedlings, including pine-, spruce-, and birch species. Seedlings can be planted near Mediamatic or at a location of the participant's choosing. Participants are encouraged to bring their own bag for carrying the seedling.
Each tree can optionally be registered on a digital tree map plus planting tips provided by Life Terra, a partner in this Europe-wide tree planting initiative. Mapping your tree helps visualize our collective impact, but participation is entirely optional.
Nina Backman will be present at the event to speak about the initiative and introduce her personal project, GIFT 432 — an evolving tree planting artwork and social ritual.
This work invites participants to engage directly with nature through the planting of larger trees, each accompanied by a certificate and an artwork. These symbolic plantings take place at select locations along the train’s route, transforming each site into a living, growing artwork. Through collaborative planting with local communities, environmental partners, and cultural institutions, the program fosters a deeper awareness of our shared responsibility for the planet. Each tree becomes part of a broader ecosystem of care, memory, and future resilience.
Surprise guests from the fields of climate and environmental science will be present to answer questions and engage with participants.
The event also includes a special presentation from Mediamatic's own garden program, linking local food production and sustainability to the broader ecological mission of The Green Train.
Information
The event takes place in our Tuinkamer & Hydroponics Greenhouse. The event will be filmed by ARTE tv.
Wednesday 22nd October
10:00 - 14:00
For questions, please send an email to workshop@mediamatic.nl.
Aquaponics - Mediamatic has their own urban agriculture system in the form of an Aquaponics greenhouse at the Biotoop Dijkspark, near Amsterdam Central station. Aquaponics is a way to sustainably produce food in the city, because it hardly takes up any space. Plants and fish are cultivated together. The fish excrete ammonia which gets transformed by bacteria into nitrate. The nitrate serves as fertilizer for the plants. Anisa Xhomaqi
Program
- 10:00–12:00: Seedling event, symbolic tree planting and a talk of Artist and The Green Train founder Nina Backman
- 12:30–13:30: Join us for a bowl of warm soup.
Program details
The program includes a public seedling giveaway, where visitors can receive free tree seedlings. There are 400 seedlings, including pine-, spruce-, and birch species. Seedlings can be planted near Mediamatic or at a location of the participant's choosing. Participants are encouraged to bring their own bag for carrying the seedling.
Each tree can optionally be registered on a digital tree map plus planting tips provided by Life Terra, a partner in this Europe-wide tree planting initiative. Mapping your tree helps visualize our collective impact, but participation is entirely optional.
Nina Backman will be present at the event to speak about the initiative and introduce her personal project, GIFT 432 — an evolving tree planting artwork and social ritual.
This work invites participants to engage directly with nature through the planting of larger trees, each accompanied by a certificate and an artwork. These symbolic plantings take place at select locations along the train’s route, transforming each site into a living, growing artwork. Through collaborative planting with local communities, environmental partners, and cultural institutions, the program fosters a deeper awareness of our shared responsibility for the planet. Each tree becomes part of a broader ecosystem of care, memory, and future resilience.
Surprise guests from the fields of climate and environmental science will be present to answer questions and engage with participants.
The event also includes a special presentation from Mediamatic's own garden program, linking local food production and sustainability to the broader ecological mission of The Green Train.
