The Eden Project

Available for over a year

In the late 1990s, Cornwall’s economy was in profound decline. The last working mine closed in 1998 and the county was among the poorest in Western Europe. Former music producer Tim Smit was looking for a new challenge. He wanted to create a place where people could learn about plants that changed the world. He found it at Bodelva – an old clay pit - and the Eden Project was born. The team endured the wettest winter in Cornish history and convinced Britain’s leading architects to work for free until funds were in place. The days and hours before opening to the public were a logistical nightmare as builders and gardeners worked cheek by jowl to get everything ready. Joining Kirsty Wark to talk about the genesis of Eden are Tim Smit – co-founder, Gay Coley who secured the millions needed and saved Eden from insolvency, Jo Elworthy who moved to Cornwall to become Eden’s first education co-ordinator, Catherine Cutler who worked tirelessly to help create the right conditions for thousands of exotic species, Andy Jasper who came back to his native Cornwall to lead Research and Evaluation and is now Eden’s CEO, Dave Meneer who gave up a lucrative career in advertising to help convince thousands of locals that Eden would not be a “white elephant”, and Keith Pizzey, senior civil engineer for contractors McAlpine, whose team worked miracles to make the pit safe and secure. With thanks to Anna Meneer and Robin Kewell for archive footage and Vicky Abbott and Mercedes Kemp for use of their song Our Roots. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Karen Pirie Series Producer: David Prest A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4