An Amazing Exhibit
I had read about the Eden project
in the paper a few months before a trip to England. We arrived just at opening
time. Some waited for the little cars to take them down into the crater, but I
walked it.
It took two and a half years to build
the Eden Project, which did not open until Easter 2001. It created so much
interest that 500,000 people visited during the six month period of
May-November to view the construction and progress of the project. The mission
of the Eden Project is, “To promote the understanding and practice the
responsible management of the vital relationship between plants, people, and
resources leading towards a sustainable future for all.”
The
popularity of the $150 million (US) Eden Project far exceeded expectations, and
300,000 people visited in the first ten weeks after opening! The project had
large umbrellas in many locations. I grabbed an umbrella as it looked very
threatening, and at the very least it would make a nice walking stick. I had no
more than entered the first biome when it started to rain, and it continued to
rain very hard all day.
Space
age technology meets the lost world of a giant abandoned 50-meter (163’) crater
china-clay quarry. The size of 35 football fields Eden houses two gigantic
geodetic domes housing thousands of plants. These biomes are the largest in the
world, covering over two acres, and are made by joining 800 huge steel
hexagons. Each hexagon is 25-feet across. If tears or holes appear in the solar
paneled roofs they can be repaired with a special tape. This remarkable
engineering feat uses no internal supports.
One
dome contains a humid tropical rain forest, complete with waterfalls and ponds.
The plantings were grouped in nine different areas designed as Madam Wealth,
Dr. Health, Mother Nature, Lady Beautiful, World’s Feast etc. Plants were
clearly marked, and periodically there was a small about 18 X 18” canvas
bulletin board with drawings and interesting facts. In the 17th
century a cargo of cloves was a king’s ransom, pepper could pay the rent, and a
packet of nutmeg could buy a mansion! The temperature in this biome was 98
degrees with humidity of probably 90%. The crowds here prevented anything but a
leisurely amble. Droplets of water were
beginning to accumulate on me as I neared the end and the exit!
The
other biome was a bit cooler, but still demanded the peeling off of outer
garments. This biome was also divided with winding paths, up, down, and around.
Someone had a very creative mind and a good since of humor as whimsical
decorations were found in various nooks and crannies.
I
managed to stay dry as I walked back up the hill to the coach. It is a very
steep incline in and out of the project as you walk to the bottom of the
quarry. Little Disney-like trains run back and forth, but we walked it faster
than the line waiting for it, and the umbrellas were nice and big.
The
complex is an educational facility, museum and display area. There also are
three indoor cafeterias and an outside café.
Benches surround an outside pool. One could easily spend all day here.
The parking lot sections were labeled with fruit names (banana, apple, etc) as
well as with numbers, the theory being that it is easier to remember a name
than a number.
The
tremendous popularity of this project, I think, says something about our
concern for the future. The project was a gigantic undertaking that is proving
to have been worthwhile. Now a decade
later I’d like to revisit the site. It is an amazing place.
