The Eden Project is an innovator in the development of green attractions. It first opened its iconic biomes in a disused Cornish clay pit in 2001 and is now one of the most visited attractions in the UK. Eden Project International then launched in 2014, taking both its social and ecological benefits to new locations around the world.
The new Eden Projects focus on the individual challenges that affect each location, such as water, food, biodiversity or soil. Eden Project International has teamed up with a variety of local organisations, companies and communities to create eco-tourism experiences. These are rising in countries across the globe, from South America to Australia.
New green attraction in Colombia
Eden announced plans to open its first destination in South America during an event at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. Located at a site in Colombia’s Meta region, the new Eden is in the early stages of development. Eden is working in partnership with the Colombian Ministry of the Environment as well as the Humboldt Institute.
“Colombia is a country of huge natural world riches and is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, as well as having varied cultures and a rich history,” said Eden Project International chief executive David Harland. “We relish the opportunity to work in such an incredible environment and look forward to working with our partners to bring the Eden message to South America for the first time at scale.”
“The opportunity to bring such an influential and iconic institution as Eden Project to Colombia is a testament to the work we have done to better understand and promote our outstanding biodiversity and sustainability,” said President Iván Duque Márquez.
“Colombia is an important biodiversity hotspot, which makes it one of the most interesting places to conduct environmental scientific research and to develop a modern, productive and sustainable economy,” said Hernando García, director of Colombia’s Humboldt Institute.
Inka Park, a new theme park resort on the coast of Peru, will also feature an Eden Project. Furthermore, in North America, Eden is developing a unique visitor destination and residential hub for Graniteville, South Carolina.
Eden Project North
Eden Project North is a £100 million development that reimagines Morecambe in Lancashire, UK as a seaside resort for the 21st century. Combining both indoor and outdoor experiences, this major attraction connects visitors with the region’s natural environment. Shell-style pavilions house the indoor areas.
Lancaster City Council gave planning permission in February 2022, with an opening scheduled for 2024. The new Eden Project offers exhibits, educational experiences, immersive attractions and performances, as well as world-class horticulture. There are also spaces for art, retail and F&B.
‘Above the Bay’ is an environment featuring plants and art exhibits. Meanwhile ‘Below the Bay’ is an immersive series of theatrical experiences. The Natural Observatory houses Eden Project North’s research and education programmes.
“It’s on the seafront, it’s looking out to that wonderful bay and on to the Lake District,” said Harland. “Behind you on the site, what you’ve got is a town that has experienced some decline over the late 20th century and into the 21st century.”
“It’s a place that feels a little bit like hope has deserted it. What Eden Project North is trying to do is bring back that hope.”
As part of the project, Eden has also teamed up with PlayStation to create a 12-acre wildflower habitat in Morecambe. The partnership takes inspiration from the natural world depicted in Sony’s new video game Horizon Forbidden West. It aims to highlight the importance of the UK’s crucial wildflower habitats.
Eden Project Qingdao
Eden Project Qingdao was the first development that the company announced outside of Cornwall. Located in Qingdao in China’s Shandong province, the new £150 million Eden Project is surrounded by and inspired by water. Due to open in 2023, it is situated on an area of reclaimed and environmentally damaged land.
Visitors will travel through water-themed environments featuring theatrical performances and interactive installations. These explore different aspects of water. The attraction also will feature the world’s highest indoor waterfall.
“The site is all about human connection with water,” Harland told blooloop. “It’s telling the story of water abundance and water scarcity and water quality and the power of water as well.”
Eden is also creating a new destination in Jizhou, situated within a former limestone quarry, made up of a network of attractions and a new town.
Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion
The first new Eden Project to open outside of Cornwall was Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion. This served as the green centrepiece of Expo 2020 Dubai. The building is remaining at Expo City Dubai, a new city that will evolve the World Expo site.
“This is another big moment in Eden’s history, and we are so pleased to see this collaboration realising the first Eden-designed content outside the UK and the first pin in the map for our international ambitions,” Harland said.
Eden co-led the landscape design and visitor experience alongside partners Grimshaw, Thinc Design and Expo 2020 Dubai. Terra’s grounds feature various sustainable innovations, including innovative irrigation techniques as well as a greywater recycling system. It also utilises local plants to reduce water use by 75 percent. Plus it has energy trees equipped with solar panels and a water tree that produces water from the air.
John Bull, director of Terra, told blooloop:
“We want to make sure we do everything possible to ensure that our visitors become agents of change. We genuinely aspire to change people. The aim is to get them thinking differently, and wanting to do things differently. So, some of the last experiences are about opening the door to allow them to do that, inviting them to change their behaviour.”
“We want them to take up new challenges, to sign up to initiatives here in the UAE and around the world with an environmental focus.”
Eden Project Dundee
Eden Project Dundee is scheduled to open in 2025. It is currently under construction at the former Dundee Gasworks, less than a mile away from V&A Dundee. The development is projected to attract more than 500,000 annual visitors, generating £27 million of economic impact on the region every year.
“Everyone at Eden is energised by this project and inspired by the enviable ambition of the city,” Harland said. “The gasworks site is unique and brimming with opportunities for an attraction that Dundonians can feel proud to call their own.”
Eden Project Dundee is drawing on the history of the city’s Nine Incorporated Trades. It is based on nine new ‘Guilds’. Initial concepts for these are Healers, Growers, Navigators, Myth-Makers, Noticers, Alchemists, Celebrators, Menders and Re-Sourcerors.
Highlights include walled gardens and a high-tech zone showcasing new ways to grow plants. There will also be a series of story-driven experiences related to mining and its alternatives. Eden is planting wildflower meadows across Dundee as part of its commitment to the city ahead of the opening of Eden Project Dundee.
Eco-tourism in Australia
Eden Project Anglesea is a world-class eco-tourism attraction on the site of Alcoa’s former coal mine in Victoria, Australia. The mine, which closed in 2015, provided fuel for the adjacent power station. The A$150m destination will open in 2026.
Visitors will discover the elements of fire, air, earth and water through immersive and educational experiences celebrating the local ecology. Eden Project Anglesea is designed to showcase the site’s unique natural values. Eden and Alcoa are engaging with the local community.
Harland said the concept “could bring environmental, social and economic regeneration to Anglesea and the wider region, while re-imagining what’s possible within Australian mine rehabilitation sites”.
“We’ve envisioned a place of extraordinary experiences, fusing science and wonder to immerse visitors in the extreme elements – fire, air, earth and water – which have shaped the surf coast region and its inhabitants for millennia, creating a must-see prelude for a journey on the Great Ocean Road,” he added. “This concept will be a global exemplar of sustainability and environmental excellence.”
Showcasing unique sites
Eden Project Anglesea is projected to create more than 1,300 new jobs. It will also generate A$350 million for the regional economy in its first 10 years of operation. The facility is likely to welcome 750,000 visitors every year.
“Our experience in Cornwall shows us it’s possible to take a former mining landscape and create a place that celebrates our natural world and educates and entertains people from all walks of life, while providing a year-round positive impact for the community,” Harland said.
John Osborne is the director of asset planning and management at Alcoa. He said the project is “an opportunity to showcase the site’s unique natural values while making a significant and lasting contribution to the region for generations to come”.
Eden Project Foyle
Eden Project Foyle, a riverside cultural and environmental tourist attraction, will be coming to Derry, Northern Ireland. Developed by the Foyle River Gardens charity, it will transform a historic site along the banks of the River Foyle.
The centrepiece is a building inspired by Neolithic architecture and the forest known as the Acorn. The building will house a performance area and large indoor play space inspired by nature. Visitors can walk on the roof and take zip wires down to walkways. The structure is located within the trees.
The 100-hectare site will also boast walled gardens, treetop walkways and a water activity centre. There will be weaving pathways and floating boardwalks, as well as rope bridges and slides.
Eden Project Foyle is costing an estimated £67 million. Set to debut in 2025, it will inject £62 million into the regional economy every year. Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project, described it as a “global must-see destination”.
Eden Project Costa Rica
Next, Eden Project Costa Rica is an ambitious plan to restore a ‘biological corridor’ of dry tropical forest. As part of the development, Eden also aims to support local communities on the Nicoya Peninsula on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.
The eco-tourism company is working in partnership with Matambú Forest Nature Reserve. It is also working with the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy. The $15 million project will continue Costa Rica’s rewilding programme and expand the forest across the peninsula.
Visitor experience in New Zealand
Eden Project New Zealand, or Eden Project Aotearoa after the Māori name for the country, will open in 2025. It is located in Christchurch on approximately 40 hectares of land.
Eden is working with the Christchurch City Council to transform the former residential area, cleared after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The new Eden will be a multi-sensory visitor destination and neighbourhood that explores the relationship between nature and culture.
Eden Project Portland
Eden Project Portland in Dorset will be an underground cathedral with cutting-edge exhibits that explore nature, biodiversity, evolution and extinction. For the £30 million attraction, Eden is transforming a subterranean labyrinth of mine tunnels beneath the Isle of Portland. The site was formerly used to extract Portland stone.
Sebastian Brooke, project director for Eden Portland said:
“Together we will tell the biggest story of all: the evolving story of life. It’s a story four billion years in the making and so far as anyone knows is unique in the universe.”
“This project will be the most innovative, exciting visitor experience in the world,” Smit also said. “Using light in the darkness, this bold vision of adventure into the underworld will explore life and its interconnections, vanities and fragility with such a theatrical flourish as has never been seen before.”
Eden in Canary Wharf
The Eden Project is also working to increase biodiversity in Canary Wharf and create a base for itself in London. “There is not a moment to waste,” said Harland.
“Canary Wharf Group (CWG) and Eden are primed and ready to work together not just to make Canary Wharf a greener place rich in biodiversity, but also to share what we learn in order to bring nature back to other urban developments in the UK and across the globe.”
Eden is creating a ‘green spine’ through the centre of the financial district. This will feature parks, gardens, waterside access and performance spaces, as well as new bridges, boardwalks and floating pontoons. There will be new spaces for arts and culture. In addition, there will be water sports such as paddle boarding, open water swimming and kayaking.
Hardland added:
“CWG and the Eden Project are both based on the transformational redevelopment of a former industrial site into a world-renowned icon of regeneration. Our exciting new partnership feels natural and vital.”
“Our urbanising world cannot become sustainable until cities work for nature as well as people,” said Shobi Khan, CEO of the Canary Wharf Group.
“In partnering with biodiversity expert the Eden Project, CWG will accelerate thinking and action on how urban environments can be redesigned with nature at the heart.”
Images: Eden Project International
