Extension Unit - Tourism in Cornwall: The Eden Project

The rock which underlies much of the area of southern Cornwall is granite, a very hard and resistant rock. It is made up of three minerals, quartz, mica and feldspar. In the area near to the town of St Austell the feldspar has been changed chemically to form the mineral called kaolin, or china clay. China clay, which is white in colour, is used in many industries such as paper making, and the production of paint, porcelain and cosmetics. The extraction of china clay out of the ground is done by excavating large holes, which are then abandoned when no more china clay can be taken out of the pit. So the landscape of the St Austell area is covered with abandoned pits, and with the huge white spoil heaps of mica and quartz which are the waste from extracting the china clay.

Apart from tourism, which is important mostly during a few summer months only, there are few major sources of employment in southern Cornwall. In one of these former china clay workings, on 17 March 2001, the Eden Project was opened.

Inside a giant 50 metre deep crater overlooking St Austell Bay are two enormous greenhouses. In one of them is a recreation of a rainforest environment - the other contains the fruits and flowers of the Mediterranean, South Africa and California.

The design and construction of the two domes has been revolutionary - for details, see
www.anthonyhuntassociates.co.uk/eden-project.htm. So many people were interested in their building that 500,000 visitors came to the site even before it was officially opened. Outside the two huge domes is a third environment, representing plants found in the UK's temperate climate.

It is hoped that further environments will be added, and that the project will become the centre not only for tourists but also for the detailed study of the different biomes.

Secondly, you need to research information from the Internet on each of the three environments - the Rainforest environment, the Mediterranean environment and the temperate environment. You need to find out what the climate is like in these areas, and therefore what plants grow there. You should include crops and fruits as well as plants and trees.

You should present your leaflet either as a Word document, or in Publisher, or in a computer Desk Top Publishing package which is available to you in school or at home. Be careful not to make it too full and detailed - remember that you are producing it for primary school pupils.

For tropical rainforest plants, see
www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listtropicalmr.html
and then
www.zoorainforest.co.nz/plants.html
or
www.pbs.org/tal/costa_rica/variety.html

For Mediterranean vegetation, see
www.scalloway.org.uk/clim11.htm

For temperate vegetation, see
www.snowcrest.net/geography/slides/biomes/temp.htm
and throughout the UK countryside!

Back to top