The Eden Project
The Eden Project was constructed in a 160-year-old exhausted china clay quarry at Bodelva, near St. Austell, in Cornwall. It was established as one of the Landmark Millennium Projects to mark the year 2000 in the UK.
While restoring the Lost Gardens of Heligan in the early 90s, Tim Smit became fascinated with stories that connected plants to people and brought them alive.
The Eden Project is wholly owned by the Eden Trust, an educational charity (charity number 1093070). We use exhibits, events, workshops and educational programmes to remind people of our dependence on, and connection to, the natural world.
In the first two months of construction it rained every day; 43 million gallons of rainwater drained into the pit. This prompted the engineers to come up with a magnificent subterranean drainage system that now collects all the water coming on to the site, averaging 20,000 bathfuls a day.
The rapid growers in the Rainforest Biome needed a rich organic soil capable of holding lots of water and nutrients while the slower growers in the drier Mediterranean Biome used a sandy mix which held less of both. A specialist nutrient-free mix was used in the South African Fynbos, where fertile soil is toxic to some of the plants.
Plants: Around 1 million plants of just under 4,000 taxa (species and cultivars). Most are not rare, except for the few that tell stories of the need for conservation, neither were they taken from the wild.
VISITORS INFORMATION:
| Ticket type |
On the door |
Special online prices |
Discounts for walkers & cyclists |
| Adults |
£16.00 |
£15.00 |
£12.00 on the door |
| Seniors* |
£11.00 |
£10.00 |
£7.00 on the door |
| Students* |
£8.00 |
£7.00 |
£4.00 on the door |
| Children* |
£6.00 |
£5.00 |
Free on the door |
| Families* |
£39.00 |
£36.00 |
£24.00 on the door |
| Under 5s |
Free |
Free |
Free on the door |
*Seniors - 60+
*Students - Full time students - please bring student Identification with you
*Children - under 16 or under 18 and in full-time education, visiting as part of a family group.
*Families - 2 adults and up to 3 children (under 16 or under 18 and in full-time education)
Discount for walkers & cyclist* - Walkers and cyclists can only purchase tickets and receive their discount on the door.
EVENTS:
Eden Project,
Bodelva,
Cornwall,
PL24 2SG,
UK
Exhibition: Eden @Chelsea
22 Jun – 28 Oct 2010
A photographic exhibition charting the creation of Chelsea's largest ever show garden. The silver medal winning Places of Change garden was designed by Paul Stone, in collaboration with the Homes and Communities Agency, Eden Project, Homeless Link and Communities and Local Government.