I had never heard of the Eden Project. But is was number one on Lonely Planet, and just about everyone who answered my question on Facebook about what to do in Cornwall said to do it. I looked it up, and it sounded grand. So I planned a day there. And that was well worth it. In the end I spent about 7.5 hours exploring it, and could have spent more.
25 or so years ago a small group of people bought a
closed clay mine. They had a vision - to create a place like nothing
anyone had ever seen before; a place that explored our place in nature, a
place that demonstrated what could be done if people who wanted to make
a difference got together. Into an exhausted, steep-sided clay pit 60 metres deep, with no
soil, 15 metres below the water table, and essentially gave it life.
Into it they brought a huge diversity of plants that we use every day but
often don’t get to see, planted in soil made from ‘waste’ materials,
watered by the rain, in giant conservatories and buildings that drew
inspiration from nature. It is now a wonderful place for people explore the
interconnections of all life. And they are hard at work all around the world. Look it up. If you can go there.
It was an inspiring day. I joined the "spice talk" and learnt so much. I was intrigued by the locals around me "dying" in the heat and needing to visit the cooling rooms - please don't even go south - you will die. I loved the Infinity Blue puffing away. I felt enthused to make part of our garden a pollinating garden - a thing still on my "to do list". It was a big day.
It was a day to find hope with it's message about the interconnections of all live as we face the emergencies of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. It was even more poignant knowing we were coming up to an election where the winners were going to be people who care little for any on these things and would not even believe these emergencies exist. In the face of short term economic gain it is good to know that there are people around the world working to bring God's reign of justice and hope on earth as in heaven. The question then is, what is mine to do in the face of all this?
Here are
some photos I put up on Facebook.
Comments