A forest made from recycled materials is part of an immersive musical experience for children at the Sydney Opera House.

A small forest has taken root in the Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House. Bird song fills the twilit air along with the croaking of frogs. Later the sound of rain and thunder sweeps in.

Music of the Forest. Photograph courtesy of the Sydney Opera House

Young children follow the path around the installation of tree trunks, ferns, shrubs and creeping flowers, with a carpet of fallen leaves. Initially the youngsters excitedly point out mushrooms, rocks and tiny pools of water. Then they start looking closer to find out what it’s all made of – for nothing in this forest is quite what it seems.

One tree trunk is made of pot plants with odd socks pulled over them. Another tree is made of old umbrellas and lace curtains. The leaves are made of paper and real estate signs, some with writing on them. The mushrooms are constructed from bottle tops and stockings dipped into remnant house paint. Everything, in fact, has been made from materials that were destined for...