The Eden project

Most people in the developed world know, and care little about horticulture. It is hard to see how issues like food security can be tackled without fostering a greater level of respect for growing, and a more literate constituency that supports a political and economic system that safeguards the plants, places, people and practices without which we could not exist. Unless we have that understanding, our infrastructure and investment in horticulture, as well as research and education in one of the most fundamental sciences of all, will continue to be dismantled. The Eden Project presents horticulture to the public through a rich narrative, rooted in history, exploring the timeless and essential nature of growing and our dependence on plants and, by extension the natural world. Funded as part of the UK Millennium celebrations, since opening in March 2001 the project has had over 12 million visitors contribute more than £1 billion into the local economy. The gardens and interpreted displays are designed to bring people face-to-face with an enhanced awareness of the need to work with the grain of nature. The philosophy behind the development of the Eden Project was simple. The restoration of the 18th Century Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall, which opened to the public in 1992 and became the most visited private gardens in Britain, demonstrated that there was a hunger in the public to have horticulture presented to them in a new way, one rich in narrative, rooted in history, but hinting at the timeless and essential nature of growing and our dependence on plants and, by extension the natural world. VISION Our vision was to take the most derelict place we could find, with the maximum potential for theatre. We envisaged a “lost world in the crater of a volcano”, actually a disused clay mine transformed by the creation of 85,000 tons of “man made” soil, the assemblage of possibly the greatest variety of economically useful plants ever gathered together in one place under roofs of glittering and iconic architecture, designed to reflect a distinctive culture—“Picasso meets the Aztecs”. We set out our stall. Our fundraising, £145m came out of a base of nothing in the poorest county in Britain and is an epic story in itself as was the radical approach to creating a design team where the constructor and design team became proxy clients and built it on time and on budget, winning dozens of awards along the way. Since opening in March 2001 we have had 12 million visitors and Eden has contributed more than £1 billion into the local economy. We have over 400 permanent staff and an unusual way of managing ourselves. We are a Social Enterprise and have pioneered a wide range of sustainable operational protocols copied elsewhere. Eden’s approach to procurement, marketing and social engagement are rooted in the personal and we use our status as one of the most powerful brands in the UK to champion projects outside our destination. All our projects have sustainability at heart and range from projects with the homeless and ex-offenders, to horticultural projects for the sociallyexcluded. We put on major rock concerts, including Live 8, “Africa Calling” and we