Plants - What are their purpose?

Eden Project, Cornwall, England South West

Recommendation added: 21/06/2006 14:48
By: katygriff (YSUK rating +352)

katygriff has been thanked 1 times for this contribution

"When I first heard about the Eden project I could not wait to visit and now almost five years later I have finally been and my verdict is….excellent!!!

The Eden project has been referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. It is a place which brings together the importance of plants, places and people and shows us that plants do a lot more than we give them credit for. Containing two temperate biomes, an education centre (due to open this summer 2005) and a stunning setting the Eden project is a must see for everybody.

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Eden – The history.

The Eden project has been created from an old clay pit. In 1998 work began and within 2 months it was found that 43 million gallons of water had drained into the pit. This prompted a drainage system to be created that collects all the water that the pit is exposed to. This water is now used to flush the site toilets and to irrigate the plants. 85,000 tonnes of soil was poured into the site which was made from recycled waste and then 1 million plants were added. The landscape was designed by Dominic Cole which poses of colourful flower displays and statues. The biomes themselves have been established as the largest conservatories in the world. Steelwork is used which contains a frame that holds hexagons and pentagons called the hex-tri-hex. The transparent windows of the biomes are made from ethylenetetrafluoroethylenecopolymer (try saying that when you are drunk) or more commonly known as ETFE.

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The Location.

The Eden Project,
Bodelva,
St Austell,
Cornwall,
PL24 2SG.

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The Price.

Adult - £12.50
Child (under 18) - £6.00
Student - £6.00
OAP - £9.50
Also for a few pounds extra on the price you can buy a yearly pass so you can visit several times. You should expect to spend around 3-4 hours there.

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The Biomes.

The humid tropics biome gives you a first hand experience on what it is like to step through a rainforest. 240metres high, 110m wide and 50m high there are several exits and also seating areas throughout. At the centre of the biome you can also decide if you want to take the steep trail which takes you up to the top of the waterfall. I would only recommend this trail if you do think you can manage it although it does only take about ten minutes to get to the top. The view from the top of the waterfall is amazing and there are paintings at the top which are fantastic to look at. Featuring typical plants and trees from countries such as Malaysia, West Africa and South America and also giving you an insight into how plants give us pharmaceuticals. My favourite part of this biome was seeing the sapodilla tree which is made into chewing gum and also seeing the rice goddess or Shimenawa. I can't really explain this statue but it is meant to symbolise that in Vietnam they look at the moon and see the goddess who harvests rice in the Bo tree. Also in this biome learn about tropical fruits, chilli trees, cocoa, coffee and sugar.

The warm temperate biome gives you a landscape of areas such as South Africa, California and the Mediterranean. Again there are two ways you can walk, you can follow the gold pathway which has no steps or again take the steep trail which will allow you to reach the viewing point at the top where you can view the entire biome. In this biome you will get an introduction into crops and cultivation, peppers, alliums, tobacco, citrus and how plants are used for perfume. My favourite part of this biome was seeing into how cork is used and in particular the pig statues that were made out of cork. I was hoping these were in the gist shop but I was left disappointed.

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Who owns the Eden project?

The Eden trust is a registered UK charity – number 1093070. As the Eden project is owned by the Eden trust all profits go to the charity and they work within the areas of environment, horticulture, education and conservation.

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The future of the Eden project.

The Eden trust will continually fundraise the project and helping the world realise the importance of plants on the environment and how we live our everyday lives. Humans have caused a lot of problems in the world and as you walk through the Eden project and listen to the stories you begin to understand individual things that you can do to make a real difference in the world. The project will always be in evolution as new plants are being introduced each year.

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The food.

Food is all organic and very good for you. There are several cafes and places to stop and eat. Prices are quite cheap with a varied range of sandwiches and jacket potatoes.

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The shop.

The shop has surprise surprise plants for sale and also many ornaments and organic foods and snacks. I bought some pineapple and cashew snack bars which were delicious and also a mug explaining that chocolate was a gift of romance. My sister bought some very nice fudge and some cleansing lotion which smelled amazing. Prices were reasonable with snacks priced at anything from 60p to £5 and then gifts at all prices.

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My Verdict.

After my long wait for the visit I was genuinely excited about the visit and as soon as I saw the famous biome structures from the car park I literally wanted to run to the entrance gates. The entrance fees I was expecting having done a bit of research beforehand but my Mom and Nan were quite shocked that they were that expensive but agreed in the end that they were worth it. We visited for about 3 hours but could have stayed longer. I particularly liked it that there were activities for young children to be involved in such as bug making tasks and a parade.

Outside the scenery is amazing and the hill of different coloured poppies looked amazing. I loved the sculptures which included a giant bee, a strange metal man and my favourite the wee man which is made out of old electrical supplies such as toasters and cookers. There is a small train well more like a tractor which takes you to the top of the hill from the biomes and vice versa.

The biomes I loved with the humid being my favourite although I will warn you that it makes your hair go really fuzzy (like Monica's in that episode of friends). I loved walking through the rainforest and really getting into the moment. Staff are there to ask questions and I fully recommend going at a tour time so you can get the most out of your visit.

I loved visiting and would visit again. I think I would visit later in the afternoon though as at 5pm they offer a barbeque and at 7pm there is live music at the stage located in the middle of the outdoor landscape. Although we luckily visited on a dry day, I am not sure I would have enjoyed the experience as much if it had have been raining.

I would recommend visiting if you would like to learn a little more about the environment and how it affects everybody.

Thanks for reading.
xxx"