The Eden Project

The Eden Project site is based at the bottom of an old clay mining pit. 13 years ago project Eden began being built. Within one year they had to plant this whole area, for the first two months it rained everyday.
To date they have over 1 million plants of these 5-6 thousands species are from around the world. The two biomes are broken into sections of the world from tropical to mediterranean.

Their aim is to teach and encourage sustainable horticulture. This is done by using recycled materials to grow plants, all their food waste and green waste is composted and put back into the site.

Because of the sensitivity of the growing areas within the biomes their bio security is extremely tight. Plants are quarantined for 3-6 months and possibly treated upto a year before being planted into the biomes.

There is 80 hectares surrounding the project that they also rehabilitate.
They capture and reuse all of the water on site, they are looking at updating their irrigation system as new technologies arise, for this they have a group of university students studying possibilities.

The Eden Project is not just the biomes they have sustainable gardens around the site, sculptures made from recycled goods, cafes, music festivals, education courses and many more.

If you are ever in the London I would recommend the trip to Cornwell to visit The Eden Project.