For 160 years, clay for making china was collected from a pit on the southwest coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. By the mid 1990’s the pit was abandoned because the supply of clay had been mostly exhausted from the site. To get an idea of what the pit looked like towards the end of its clay operations, watch the BBC TV version of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. In 1981 they filmed the pit as the planet surface of Magrathea.
In 1996, Sir Timmothy Bartel Smit, a Dutch-born English archeologist turned music producer, dreamt up and later created The Eden Project on the site of the old clay pit. As for the reason Smit built the project? Here’s a brief quote on the project’s mission, “Eden aims to educate people about environmental matters and encourages a greater understanding and empathy with these matters.”
The complex consists of two massive bio-domes, one with a rainforest environment and the other with a Mediterranean environment. They are made of thermoplastic film which is sealed and inflated over tubular steel frames. There is also an educational center, a large stage for concerts, and the entire complex is surrounded by botanical gardens and walking paths. Angela and I spent a lovely day wandering through the complex with my brother and nephew … enjoy the pics!
