Eden - Tapa blanda

‘With passion and commitment thousands of “small” people built Eden as a symbol of hope in action...

We may all have feet of clay, but that shouldn't stop us trying to make a difference. Wouldn't we all rather look back and say, “I'm glad I did,” rather than “I wish I had”? Some might smile at the naivety of such ambition, believing it to be impossible. We say, “Demand the impossible”.’

So said Tim Smit and thus was the impossible delivered: a living theatre of plants and people and their interdependence, housed in a disused china clay pit and featuring the world’s largest greenhouses. Well over five million visitors have since made their way to Eden, drawn by the astonishing, visionary ambition of its founders. This is Tim's story of how it all came about: the Project's genesis in the Lost Gardens of Heligan, its design and construction against all the odds, its supremely talented team of larger-than-life personalities. Above all, how the energy that brought the vision to life is being applied to possible futures. It is a vision for all to share.

From the sterile depths of a disused china clay pit in Cornwall has risen one of the most remarkable and ambitious ventures in recent memory. The Eden Project’s iconic biomes, the world’s largest conservatories, are the symbol of a living theatre of plants and people, of regeneration and of a pioneering forum for the exploration of possible futures.

Tim Smit and his team working on the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan realized very quickly that plants, even the humble potato, had stories to tell that could fire the imagination. How to tell them? There was no room at Heligan for the ambitious buildings required. Why not build them in one of the many derelict pits that dotted this part of Cornwall? The vision inspired botanists, engineers, architects, artists – and, crucially, financiers both public and private. In March 2001 Eden opened its doors to the world, and over two million visitors have flocked there since.

This is the extraordinary story of the Eden Project, of its conception, design and construction, and of the larger-than-life personalities who made it happen. It is the story of how the hope and energy of many men and women transformed a thrilling idea into a breathtaking reality.