The Eden Project was started in 1999 through the vision and enthusiasm of Tim Smit, and has developed into one of the best-known attractions in the UK and Europe.
Eden’s mission statement is: to promote the understanding and responsible management of the vital relationship between plants, people and resources leading to a sustainable future for all.
The 50-metre deep crater at Bodelva, once a china clay pit, has become home to thousands of important and beautiful plants. Three of the world's climate zones ('biomes') have been chosen for interpretation.
The humid tropics (rainforests and oceanic islands) and the warm temperate regions (the Mediterranean, South Africa and California) are contained within the two giant conservatories that have already captured the public imagination.
The third, or 'roofless Biome', is thetemperate zone that thrives on the climatic advantages that Cornwall has to offer. Here, a fabulous range of plants from the India to Chile rub shoulders with the much-loved native flora of Cornwall, the Atlantic rainforests, and many of the more familiar crops that have shaped our lives.
When Bodelva was purchased in 1998 it had just reached the end of its life as a china clay pit. It looked like a huge inverted cone, more than 60 metres deep and the size of 35 football pitches – with no level ground, no soil, one or two gorse bushes and enough water to begin the Atlantis Project instead. Great start for a global garden!
So 17 metres were sliced off the top and put it into the bottom to make the site better suited to people than mountain goats. It took 12 dumper trucks and eight bulldozers six months to shift 1.8 million tonnes of dirt.
The water: in the first two months it rained solidly and 43 million gallons of water drained into the pit. The engineers came up with a drainage system that could take anything the weather chucked at it. This subterranean masterpiece now collects all the water coming on to the site, on average 22 litres/sec or 20,000 bathfuls a day.
The water is used to satisfy the needs of the plants, as irrigation, and the visitor, by flushing the loos. Rainwater that falls on the biomes is used inside to create the misty atmosphere of the rainforest.
The earth: back on dry land, dodgy slopes were shaved back to a safe angle and terraces chopped out. Two thousand rock anchors, some up to 11 m long, were driven into the pit sides to stabilize them, and a ‘soup’ of plant seed and plant food sprayed on the slopes to knit the surface together.
Then, 85,000 tonnes of soil that we made from recycled waste was poured in, and more than 5,000 types of plants added.
The plants: most of the plants are not rare, except for the few that tell stories of rarity and the need for conservation. They were brought here to show us the raw materials of our lives: the plants we use every day.
The plants weren’t taken from the wild, either. Many were grown from seed in Eden's nursery, which is currently growing plants for the next chapter (the dry tropics biome).
Others came from botanic gardens, research stations and supporters worldwide.
The story: the Eden Team merge fabulous horticulture with art, science and education to tell stories about us and our world. We need to find a balance between growing plants to meet our needs (and wants), and conserving the land worldwide.
The plants in the outdoor biome come from all over the temperate world, including parts of Asia, America and the upper slopes of tropical mountains as well as Europe. Cornwall’s mild climate helps. Yes, the green shrubs down to the left, near the giant wooden leaf, really are tea bushes.
As well as the plants Eden hope you will like their collection of celebratory silk flags, inspired by various plant forms at Eden and designed, made and planted by Angus Watt. The entrance to the covered Biomes is via the link bridge between them.
For the full story of Eden, go to the website: www.edenproject.com
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St Austell, Fowey and Mevagissey
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Bodelva,
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St Austell |
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01726 811911
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