New Bentway installation uses rainwater runoff from Gardiner Expressway to nurture plants | CBC News

A new temporary installation that uses rainwater runoff from the Gardiner Expressway to nurture flowering plant species opened at the Bentway on Monday. 

The Bentway Staging Grounds, under the Gardiner Expressway at Dan Leckie Way, features a series of oversized planters placed in the midst of a series of walkways.

Ilana Altman, co-executive director of The Bentway, said the installation will be in place until the city starts rehabilitation work on the Gardiner Expressway. That work is expected to begin in late 2025.

Altman said the installation is designed to celebrate water and draw attention to the way it is managed. The experimental gardens use rainwater from the highway above to nurture native plant species below, she said.

The planters contain such plant species as Milkweed, Agastache and Yarrow, while the water filtration and retention helps to reduce the risk of local flooding. The planters are designed to help filter the water, she said.

“All in all, it really is about bettering our relationship to water and ultimately our relationship to the lake,” she said.

In a news release, the Bentway said: “Bentway Staging Grounds is a new type of infrastructure that blends art and environment, public space and experimentation, repositioning the Gardiner as a site of regeneration.”

Coun. Ausma Malik, who represents Spadina-Fort York, spoke at the ribbon cutting on Monday, saying the installation is an unexpected place for art that allows people to connect.

“Here we can find new ways to look more closely at our relationship with nature and a powerful reminder to never count out any place from blooming,” she said.