GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 13

011 a day at the edeN pRojeCt,
CoRNwall

Home to over a million plants and more than five
thousand different species from around the world,
the iconic “biomes” (gigantic greenhouses) at the
Eden Project are the focus of the UK's premier green
attraction. Built on the site of a former clay quarry,
the Rainforest Biome houses plants from tropical
islands, Malaysia, West Africa and South America,
while the smaller biome displays citrus, olives, herbs
and vines from the Mediterranean, the rich variety
of proteas and aloes from southern Africa, drifts
of colourful Californian poppies and lupins, and
shrubs of the chaparral. Visitors are guided along the
walkways by species labels and explanatory notes
that describe how the plants are used for medicine,
food and biofuel, and how a vision of a sustainable
future is pinned to their survival.
Each year over a million people visit the Eden
Project, many of whom arrive by bike, bus or train.
It is by far the most successful visitor attraction
in the southwest of England, largely thanks to the
vision of chief executive Tim Smit (the man behind
the Lost Gardens of Heligan) and also the ideas
and labour of over five hundred staff, most of whom
come from the local area.
On most days throughout the summer the Eden
Project hosts attractions and events including
theatre, workshops, art displays, gardening
talks, children's events and music festivals. All
the facilities are managed with sustainability in
mind. The food in the cafés is local and organic;
food waste is composted and used in the gardens;
rainwater is harvested and used to irrigate the
plants and flush the loos; and you get a discount if
you arrive on foot or by bicycle.

Need to know The nearest train station is St
Austell, from where there's a shuttle bus to the
Eden Project. Admission is free for children under
15. W www.edenproject.com; T [phone]
911. Green places to stay nearby include Cornish
Tipi Holidays and Cornish Yurt Holidays (see p.34),
Higher Lank Farm (see p.29) and Trelowarren (see
p.40).

Top: the Mediterranean Biome at the Eden Project; Bottom: Tim Shaw's sculptures related to the
wine god Bacchus at the Eden Project