The Eden Project- Cornwall’s Gardens of Paradise

Before sharing with you about this marvellous attraction, the Eden Project, let’s first mention the origins of its name.

In English, Eden, is a reference to the Gardens of Eden described in the Bible – an area in Asia associated with Paradise. It was where Adam and Eve began their lives.

The Eden project represents two groups of joined domes, isolated from the environment and having their own microclimates. In them, plants typical of other parts of the globe find their home — rainforest (covering 1.56 hectares) and vegetation mostly common in the Mediterranean (on an area of 0.65 hectares). The domes are constructed of a tubular metal structure forming pentagonal and hexagonal cells on which sturdy ethylene is stretched. They perfectly isolate the external weather conditions, allowing the plants inside to create their own microclimate. The project also includes an outdoor botanical garden with plants native to the Cornwall area.

Once upon a time, in 1981, the BBC television company used a kaolin mine near St. Blazey for the scenery of a scene from the planet Magrathea from their film adaptation of the book ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’.

By the end of 1990, the mine was utterly exhausted and became a great place to carry out the Eden Project. The project was conceived by the businessmen Tim Smith and his partner Jonathan Ball, and the construction began in 1998. Initially, it was accompanied by many difficulties due to a series of heavy rains and the fact that it is located 15m below sea level. The flooded terrain was a significant obstacle to its construction for some time.

By 2000, the visitor centre of the project was opened, the first plants arrived the same year, and by 2001, all its areas could be seen. The place took shape and quickly attracted the interest of producers and entrepreneurs. In 2002, scenes from another film about Crown’s agent, James Bond, were shot there, and in 2005, it was the scene of a series of concerts under the name Africa Calling.

Fantastic Christmas events and bazaars are also held there. A training facility called The Core was also built for the project in 2005. There are study halls and an exhibition area. Since 2012, the Eden Project has hosted the World Championship for making the best Cornish pie — a dish typical of the region — which attracts many visitors who love good pies. Eden contributed over £1 billion to the Cornish economy. In 2016, the project became home to Europe’s second-largest forest of giant sequoias.

In December 2020, a large flood caused a lot of damage to the project’s territory after heavy rains, immediately followed by the anti-epidemic measures due to COVID-19 , which suspended its activities for a while. The new opening, which occurred after repairing the damages, was in May 2021.

The project focuses primarily on the environment, specifically plants, and the human relationship with them. This started similar projects in the UK and worldwide — in Scotland, New Zealand, China and others. Concerts featuring popular bands and DJs such as Pulp, Moby, Keane, Muse, Bjork, and many others occur precisely on the Eden territory.

Dear friends of Training Centre Raya London, if you haven’t already, plan your visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall and tell us about the experience on our Facebook page! Develop your language skills with us and be up-to-date on our new articles published twice a month!

See you soon!

Author: Iveta Radeva

Photo: www.telegraph.co.uk