I spent my first time in Cornwall this week and it was amazing. Beautiful landscapes, nature at its best, wild animals everywhere, the sea, the hills, the sheeps and the lambs...
Aaand the Eden project I really wanted to visit and was really excited about.
But first, what is the Eden Project ?
The Eden Project is an educational charity as well as a visitor attraction.
It has been imagined and created by Tim Smit in an old china china clay pit from the 90's and opened in March 2001 after nearly 2 years of works. They aim at showing how we can use nature to transform and regenerate a place left abandoned by the human activity.
The most impressive part are the Biomes -designed by the architect Nicholas Grimshaw- which look like big bubbles coming out from the ground. One of them, the Rainforest Biome, is the largest rainforest in captivity. The other one is the Mediterranean Biome. There is also an education centre and a permanent exhibition about the invisible, which means everything that goes beyond our senses.
The sustainability is also key and ever-present all around the site.
Plus, they are dog-friendly so you can be in the outdoor gardens with your dog :)
Yes, the entrance is £28,5 per adult and it is expensive. But when you understand the project as a whole, you can only understand that you gave away to something great.
The multi-purpose project deals with degree programme for students, special activities for children with autism and for disabled people. They also fight against loneliness for elderly people and just create jobs and business for the whole region. It is a real community project that do not leave anyone aside, and this can only warm your heart.
I would spontaneously focus on the Rainforest Biome as this is clearly the most impressive structure and size of indoor forest I have ever seen. The picture below has been taken from the canopy and shows the lush space. Between giant bamboos, rubber trees, massive Alocasias, and some wild birds and geckos ! You can just walk around, get super hot, and then get some fresh water from the big waterfall.
The Mediterranean Biome has some impressive flowers too. But I regret there is a restaurant in the biome and the decor/set-up is a bit too much (blue Greek doors, etc) and can be interpreted like it is more an attraction than a sustainable biome. However, the blooming flowers are stunning and there is a wide range of varieties, which is super nice to observe.
The Eden Project is just really avant-gardiste, with the matter of sustainability on every step (the sink water in the toilets is rain water). Let's remind it all started in the mid-90's, which was not the most sustainable period, at least people were not as aware as today.
It is an enormous crazy project with great and one-of-a-kind architecture you need to see, and with only inclusive concepts for every single human being, no matter the differences.
So, hats off !
More info: https://www.edenproject.com/
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