The Eden Project shows what committed voluntarism can achieve
The Eden project is an example of what a small group of committed volunteers can do when they have a common goal.
Giant white Arum Lily
The above Giant white Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is native to southern Africa and very eye catching, don't you think?
The Eden Project is a charity that decided to take a massive, ugly and disused clay pit in Cornwall and turn it into the world’s largest undercover rain forest habitat. The vision for such an audacious project was inspirational and practical at the same time.
The Eden Project
Britain has a temperate and very variable climate and finding somewhere to go when on holiday with the kids or grandkids can be challenging. At the Eden project you can experience first hand what it is like to wander around in a rain forest when it is also raining outside which is often the case in Britain.
The biodomes contain a vast selection of huge tropical trees so it was only natural to enter them into the #treetuesday category initiated by the @old-guy-photos.
Palm tree
As you enter the biodomes you feel the warm moist air depositing droplets of water and mist on your body. Not great for camera equipment as it tends to mist up the lens but fascinating none the less.
The number of trees, flowers and birds that make up this self-contained ecosystem is a sight to see and there were many people just sitting and taking in the ambience of the rain forest as well as artists painting their interpretation of the various plants.
The people below give an idea of the scale
As well as the biodomes the project has transformed the surrounding economy, countryside and hills with an abundance of work for the local population. The variety of trees and wildflowers are truly spectacular.
Turning an old clay pit into a lush valley
The Eden project was started in 1998 and open fully to the public just three years later in March 2001 as a part of the millennium celebrations.
Its primary purpose is to show the importance of plants to people and to promote sustainable use of plant resources. Without plants we have nothing.
The geometry of the domes reflected in the shrubbery
As the project has grown over the years it is now one of the biggest employers of local people in the county and still has many 100’s of volunteers who contribute to the smooth running of the entire site.
It is geared to the needs of everyone including very good wheelchair and pushchair access and free electric wheelchairs available for those with difficulty walking.
The Olive tree
If you even wondered what a charity can do with a few committed volunteers and a big vision then the Eden project is an exemplar of what can be achieved in a very short time indeed.
They have turned a massive ugly scar in the earth from an eyesore into a demi paradise.
6,000 year old Olive trees
Photographing the flatlands of East Anglia
Me carrying a huge tree
Autumn trees
Thanks for reading.
My camera gear
EOS Canon 70D
Canon 75 -300 mm and Sigma 30 mm lenses
Category | (Nature photography)
Camera | (Canon EOS 70D)
| Exposure | (on request)
| f Stop | (on request)
| ISO | (100)
| Lens | (Canon 75 - 300 mm Sigma 30 mm lenses)
| Location | Eden Project, Cornwall, England | |
I've always thought it impressive. Still never been, I've always just assumed lots of crowds, hell of a drive to get there too!
Hadn't realised there were so many volunteers. Very impressive!
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Hello Karl, yep it sure is one hell of a drive to get to Eden. At least by the route we took. Basically down a one track road. The gps took us that way but when we arrived we found an alternate route for the journey back via the a30.
It is a very impressive project. The scale of it is quite hard to get across in photos. It is truly massive and well executed.
I recall that there are over 400 volunteers with a few 1,000 on a living wage rate paid jobs.
The place was very busy considering the time of year but it is so huge that it didn't feel crowded at all.
The rain forest is a must see if you get the chance.
Good to bump into a fellow sociologist here on steem. 😀
Steem is terrific for participant observation research and experimentation don't you think?
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I thought the A30 was a one track road! Isn't that why everyone leaves for Cornwall at 4.00 a.m...?
Good old GPS... mine will take me down any old pot holed track the first chance it gets.
I shoud visit really, at some point.
I'm really just a sociology teacher rather than a sociologist - maybe one day.
How about you, a fully paid-up sociologist professional?
It's a great subject!
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The last time I visited Cornwall in 1976 the a30 was a one track road but there has been quite a lot of new roads built since then.
There are still sections of one track but mostly dual carriageways and full on motorways. I was surprised to see the changes to be honest.
I'm a teacher and lecturer in Science Technology and Society (STS) but have conducted a few obscure research projects and written a few papers over the last 30+ years.
STS is a fascinating area which covers multiple disciplines. I'm very interested in behavioural economics and noticed you mention Thaler in one of your recent posts. Nudge nudge 😂
Michael
All sounds very interesting, you can't escape the cognate disciplines in sociology!
Happy to meet you here on this bizarre blockchain!
This has to be one of the most interesting study-environments for a sociologist!
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Happy to meet you too. It is a truly bizarre and interesting blockchain due to the community.
Without the community. Steem is just a fancy distributed ledger.
I sometimes feel how Adam Smith must have felt when he was studying the pin makers.
Of course we can never know how he felt but we are witnesses to something extraordinary here on steem.
Just about all human behaviour is represented in some way or another on here with the addition of monetary incentives for some.
This distinguishes it from any other online social community.
I'm still trying to get my head around it and I've been here almost two years!
Great fun and super interesting.
Agree with all of that! Are you coming to the Leicester steem camp?
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I've got it in the diary for sure assuming nothing more important gets in the way. I'll be there.
Hiya, @livinguktaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in today's Travel Digest #493
Your post has been manually curated by the @steemitworldmap team, and if you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider upvoting and supporting us.
Thanks @livinguktaiwan for including this post in your travel digest. It is very much appreciated.
I'll pop over and take a look. I really like the @steemitworldmap project.
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Howdy again sir molometer! What an amazing project they've done there! wow. I think most of those types of pits are left as huge wastes of space, ugly and dangerous. But those people did it right! Very inspirational post and great photos too!
Thank you for your warm comments @janton it truly is an inspirational project and shows what we can do to reclaim these old pits and literally turn them into an Eden which brings so many benefits to so many and the environment.
It's totally amazing and what a tremendous example for other countries to follow but I wonder if anyone else is converting those giant pits into anything usefull?
There are plans for another project of this kind in the north of England. In Morcombe. Here's the official New Eden post
oh that's tremendous sir molometer! I doubt if any other countries are doing this but they should be.
I agree, we need more projects like this on a huge scale everywhere before the planet cough's and dies.
howdy today sir molometer! Well I hope other countries are seeing what you all are doing because I doubt if anyone else has thought of it.
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Great project to inspire people :-)
It sure is inspirational what a few committed people can do. Thanks Mike. 😁
Great post @molometer (U/R)
Thank you @trudeehunter for the U/R it is very much appreciated.
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