Winter 2015 | Issue 24 | £3

Chai, sky and trails

Shin-kicking, bog snorkelling and birdmen

Could robots revive rainforests?

The new ‘black gold’

Inside this issue...

January is a month for taking stock and making plans. If 2013 was one of our most challenging years then 2014 saw Eden rally. We not only gave our visitors one of the best experiences available anywhere in the UK according to the British Travel Awards, but we took major steps towards achieving some of our biggest long-term goals.

Monsters abounded on site – the Gruffalo celebrated his birthday at Eden at Easter and Dinosaurs ran amok in July and August, giving us one of our busiest summer seasons ever. The sessions were a success offering a real variety of acts from the Pixies to Pixar and our Harvest programme was one of our best ever, featuring world-famous chefs, tastings and a beer festival.

Our mission to be a centre of learning received a real boost on a number of fronts in 2014. The first apprentices joined Eden’s Apprenticeship’s scheme (to get an apprentice-eye view of what it’s like see page 24); on-site accommodation arrived in the form of Snoozeboxes in partnership with the YHA, allowing us to host residential courses for schools and communities; we formed a strategic partnership with the University of Exeter; and perhaps the biggest endorsement we could hope for – our Eden Project mini-bond reached its target in record time. This investment will help to create a learning village on the pit rim.

2015 promises to be an equally exciting year. The Rainforest Canopy Walkway will enter its second phase – subject to funding – bringing rain to the rainforest with the Weather Maker and making it possible to explore the treetops on wobbly bridges. In March,

we host Energy Island, a stakeholder meeting to explore how Cornwall, blessed with some of the best renewable energy resources in the world, can make the most of them; and later in the year we hope to put our principles in action by drilling the first of our geothermal wells.

This spring will see the arrival of ancient giants and creatures invisible to the naked eye as we welcome 100 Sequoia sempervirens saplings, propagated from the world’s tallest and oldest trees, and the launch of our Human Microbiome exhibition, funded by the Wellcome Trust. In May, we’re holding our first cycling event – the Eden Classic Sportive will offer riders a choice of three routes from 35-100 miles. June offers the less demanding but no less stimulating return of the Green Fingers Festival, and Elton John is playing two sold-out sessions. Then, in time for the summer holidays, the Dinosaurs walk at Eden again!

Eden Project Learning will expand this year to encompass business courses and offer our first degree courses. In January we begin our ILM-accredited business engagement programme in partnership with Cornwall college, offering local businesses sustainability and creativity training. Our corporate engagement programme is also set to take off later in the year. In September, Eden’s first degree courses begin, offering seven courses covering horticulture, event management and small-scale theatre.

It’s only January but it looks like quite a year ahead. I hope you can join us.

RobLowe Editor

Winter 2015 Issue 24

Front and back cover images Steve Tanner

Eden Magazine is published by

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All profits from this magazine go to the charitable

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Editor

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Regulars

4 News

6 Horticulturalhighlights

27 TheEdenCrossword

28 Reviews

30 Diary

Features

8 Chai,skyandtrails Tom Stevens

12 Shin-kicking,bogsnorkellingandbirdmenRobert Lowe

16 GardenerforaDay Rachel Roser

18 Couldrobotsreviverainforests?Stephen Elliott

20 Thenew'blackgold'Robert Lowe

22 AhighfiveforSkyRainforestRescue Aimee Aldersley

24 EdenApprenticeships Jessica Hill

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Eden wins Best UK Leisure Attraction for record-breaking fourth year

Eden’s story epitomises the power of regeneration. Since opening in 2001 we have welcomed over 16 million visitors and hope we have created something that not only encourages us to understand and celebrate the world we live in, but also inspires us to action.

In the next chapter of Eden’s story we are looking at building our amazing community of members so that we can continue to connect people with each other and the natural world for many years to come.

Rose Cashman-Pugsley joined Eden in November as our new Membership Manager, tasked with regenerating the Friends membership scheme. Having worked most recently in membership and fundraising at Kew Gardens,

Rose has been busy making plans to develop the wonderful community of supporters we have at Eden.

Many Friends have already contributed their own ideas and suggestions about the future of membership through correspondence, focus groups and an online survey. We have been so grateful for the time you have given in sharing your views and will contact you all in the near future to advise you of any developments.

Membership Update

The prestigious British Travel Awards are the biggest of their kind in the industry. Winners are shortlisted by a panel of professionals and chosen by public vote. The awards have been running since 2008 and cover more than 75 categories including destinations, accommodation and customer care. This year was a record-breaking year for voting with more than 1.2 million votes cast.

In what was a great night for Cornwall, as well as Eden’s triumph, the award for Best UK Holiday County/Destination was won by Visit Cornwall for the sixth year running.

The awards were presented at a gala dinner at Battersea Evolution in London.

Director Gordon Seabright, said: ‘We would like to say a massive “thank you” to everyone who voted for Eden.

‘Being acclaimed best leisure attraction by the public for the fourth year running in competition with some truly world-class destinations is an amazing honour for Eden and the entire team. And how great that yet again Cornwall has grabbed a top prize in its class…We are now looking ahead to what promises to be another memorable year in 2015.’

The Eden Project has been acclaimed the Best UK Leisure Attraction for a record-breaking fourth year running at the travel industry ‘Oscars’, beating LEGOLAND Windsor and the Scotch Whisky Experience into second and third places respectively.

If you haven’t already shared your views, or have any questions about your membership please get in touch with us on friends@edenproject.com.

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The Eden Project and the University of Exeter have formally agreed a strategic partnership. Eden and Exeter already collaborate in areas as diverse as social enterprise, community engagement and student dissertations, but this formal partnership marks the beginning of a new approach that brings the two institutions’ commitment to learning and public engagement to the fore.

As Sir Tim Smit explained, ‘Exeter is one of the finest universities in the country. This marriage is really important to us and will enable us to become an educational hothouse.’

Professor Mark Goodwin, Exeter University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for External Affairs, added, ‘Eden is a wonderful partner for us to work with. As an iconic brand, it provides a test-bed of more than 800,000 visitors annually which means that we can truly engage the public in our newest research and discoveries.’

Already, University of Exeter and Eden staff are developing plans to explore informal science learning and public engagement thanks to a dedicated Project Development Fund.

The University of Exeter will also provide scientific expertise for the forthcoming Human Microbiome exhibit, due to be launched in the spring.

Sharing in our successThe Eden Project’s plans to create a learning village in its outer estate has received a massive boost – from the public. Eden teamed up with the UK’s largest investment crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, which is based in Exeter, to give people the chance to invest in an Eden Project Bond.

The Eden Project Bond reached its target of £1 million within 5 hours of opening to the public and was fully funded to £1.5 million within 24 hours.

Eden’s ambition is to re-purchase and lovingly restore two farmhouses - Restineas and Vounder - and their outbuildings and turn them into a unique venue for teaching quality horticulture, cookery and food production. The learning village would be surrounded by a new market garden.

The total cost of the restoration of the properties is expected to be around £3m and the mini-bond will allow the first phase to begin. The minimum investment was £500 and the bond offers a return of 6%and the return of the initial investment in four years time.

Eden and Exeter: educational hothouses

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Corkscrew Hazel South African Cape Aloes

Red Powder Puff plant Bromeliads

Dog’s Tooth VioletStaghorn

With three climate zones and over a million plants, Eden never fails to provide anything less than a jaw-dropping horticultural extravaganza. Here’s our pick of the best plants to see at Eden this season. For-up-to-the-minute news on what’s in flower visit www.edenproject.com/plant-highlights

January Corkscrew HazelCorylus avellana 'Contorta' Outdoor BiomeAs the name suggests, it’s hazel but with a twist. The contorted limbs of the first cultivated variety earned itself a place in Myddelton House’s garden of oddities, known as the ‘lunatic asylum’. In January, you might still see the first of its yellow catkins, dangling like leftover Christmas decorations. 1

South African Cape Aloes Aloe ferox Mediterranean Biome Even more decorative are the South African Cape Aloes with their amazing candelabra-like flowers in shades of scarlet and gold. 2

Red Powder Puff plant Calliandra haematocephala Rainforest BiomeAdding yet more post-Christmas cheer, the Red Powder Puff plant, Calliandra haematocephala, is festooned in bright red pom-pom flowers. 3

FebruaryTrumpet Daffodil Narcissus 'Tamara'Outdoor BiomeThe first and earliest of the golden trumpet varieties released from Rosewarne. Lemon yellow petals with a long and very neat trumpet of even darker yellow; delicately scented too.

Surinam Cherry Eugenia unifloraMediterranean BiomeSuch dainty flowers and with a sweet, heady scent to boot. The mass of stamens makes this flower look like a teeny, exploding firework!

Orchids, Bromeliads and Staghorns Rainforest BiomeOur rainforest gardeners have planted some beautiful epiphytes on to a giant tree stump and they’re going to look beautiful throughout February, with sprays of pinks, purples and greens. 4

MarchDog's Tooth Violet Erythronium 'Pagoda'Outdoor Biome Some call it the dog’s tooth violet, a few the trout lily, but whatever name you bestow upon it there is no denying the delicate beauty of this vigorous perennial bulb. The sulphur-yellow flowers dangle down, evoking the image of pagoda-style roofing of the Far East. 5

White Spanish Broom Cytisus multiflorusMediterranean Biome This beautiful shrub is looking spectacular at this time of year, with cascades of tiny flowers gushing from the thin green branches. A great-looking legume!

Spiny Mangrove Acanthus ilicifoliusRainforest Biome This shrub has thick, shiny leaves, some with prickly edges. The light violet flowers form clusters, developing into pods that ripen, explode and propel the seeds up to 2m!

Horticultural Highlights

Nepal does not serve up the intense assault on the senses that neighbouring India is so famous for. Life is a little gentler and this is reflected in the overall attitude of the people and feeling you get when you arrive. Yes things are hectic, but it’s all done with a certain ease that can genuinely lift your spirits. The reason I found myself in Nepal was to help establish a series of community projects as part of my role with a travel company and charity I have recently set up called EcoOverlanders, the aim of which is to contribute positively to communities and places and involve a wider group of people in the process through our eco-tourism activities and projects.

After a night in the ancient city, we were soon loaded up with supplies and ready to hit the open road (or tuk-tuk and bus-clogged road) out of Kathmandu. Our route took us along the first ever road in and out of the valley, carved into the hillside, along which the King of Nepal and the British Ambassador had their cars carried into the city in the 1950s. Then down on to the hot, flat open Terai region, to the far west of Nepal, and on into the ancient communities of the Tharu people where our projects are focussed.

Rising steeply out of the valley we wind our way up rocky dirt tracks, where the air suddenly becomes clear and crisp and there is an added sense of

sharpness to everything we see. With a quick stop at the top in a hillside shack for a cup of chai, we descend through ancient villages nestled alongside this timeworn trading route, out onto the lowlands and head west, sandwiched between the Indian border to the south and the Himalayas to the north.

The romance of driving long distances is timeless, staring for hours at the ever-changing landscape and not really knowing what the journey or the destination will offer. As night falls we turn off the tar road onto dirt tracks and head deep into the Bardiya National Park, crossing rivers and thick forest, eagerly trying to find the right turning amongst the maze of tracks and paths. Arriving late into the night at our camp, we congratulate ourselves on finding our way with an ice-cold beer and fall straight into bed.

Waking up to the sounds of bee-eaters flying overhead, in the camp where I will be spending the next week or so, is wonderful but it’s straight down to work. The projects I have come to help develop are part of a partnership between my own organisation, EcoOverlanders, and the British Council. Our aim is to link up people from around the world through our tourism operations, while undertaking specific long-term projects within hard-to-reach communities in Nepal. To achieve

Chai, sky and trails: developing an ecotourism project in Western NepalTom Stevens, Eden Foundation Manager

In my peripheral vision through the window at 30,000 feet are the glassy peaks of the Himalayas soaring above the cloud line, the piercing sunrays bouncing off these cathedral-like spires. Then I’m rapidly descending into the vast amphitheatre that is Kathmandu Valley, home to the most amazing city that is bursting at the seams, a melting pot of old and new, iPhone-wielding city slickers alongside traditional healers and holy men. Religions, language, food and smells all jostle for your attention creating a vibrancy that is intoxicating.

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maximum impact, we partner up with others in a similar way to Eden.

Soon we are sitting in the grounds of Om Deep Joyti Community School, sipping spiced milky tea. The heat of the day is steadily rising and the shade of the pawpaw tree we are sitting under is very welcome. But as head teacher Damodar Gautam and his wife explain to us, once inside the tin- roofed classrooms the heat can be pretty intense for students and teachers alike.

This school is in an extremely isolated community and as we chat further we begin to understand some of the challenges they face at the school, the main one being to ensure that the children actually attend school on a regular basis.

The term marginalised is very fitting for this community as a whole. The Tharu are a very proud and unique

group of people, geographically isolated in the far west from the larger towns and cities. The comparison with parts of Cornwall is irresistible – and not such a far-out thought. In fact the closer

you look the more obvious it becomes, and the Tharu people are now even recognised as their own nationality.

So how do you go about finding out what is really needed in a school to help the children? Well how about asking them, we suggest…and after a

few questioning glances, that is exactly what we do.

We are invited into a family home within the village to meet some of the children and chat through some

of their ideas. Stepping over goats and sleeping pigs then ducking under the low grass roof, we enter a dark cool world that feels like a film set. It is so clean and tidy, with mud walls that are so smooth they shimmer. At the rear of the house are three huge

Above: People riding the bus in Kathmandu Valley.Right: A lady on the road into the foothills of the Himalayas (Annapurna Conservation Area).Previous page: Tharu boy looking through a window in Bardiya National Park buffer zone, western Nepal.

It turns out that what the children really want is quite simply a nice place to spend their time, a school that looks better and feels more comfortable, and a place that they can be proud of.

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to set up their own enterprises within the community.

All too soon we have to head back towards Kathmandu for my return home. Our journey back takes us up into the Himalayas, through areas where few tourists venture and what feels like truly uncharted territory. Passing through mountainside villages, we wash under roadside waterfalls and are invited in to eat the most amazing food in people’s homes along the way. And not only a chance for us to grab a delicious meal; one evening this turned into an impromptu English lesson for the owner’s eight-year-old son, with the entire family laughing and sharing stories with us. The warmth and generosity of the Nepalese people is quite humbling and something we can all learn from. Just like the work we do at Eden, this is about shifting perspective and looking at things in a new way through exploration.

Our organisation will run trips in Nepal throughout 2015, for people from around the world to actively contribute towards the success of these projects, while building lasting relationships and experiencing these wonderful places for themselves. Our project work will be embedded into each trip, combining the very best bits of overland travel, adventure and the opportunity to be part of a tangible legacy. A chance for our global perspective and our local perspective to be really strengthened by each other.

Visit www.ecooverlanders.com or email info@ecooverlanders.com to find out more.

mud containers, about nine feet tall, that hold the family’s rice stocks. In another room is the ubiquitous ever-burning fire, with a selection of pots and pans bubbling away sending smells of lemon grass, chilli and spices into the thick air. Not a bad place to throw some ideas around – and not a flip chart in sight!

It turns out that what the children really want is quite simply a nice place to spend their time, a school that looks better and feels more comfortable, and a place that they can be proud of. So we set to work on planning what we can do to make this happen. We settle on planting up the grounds, mudding the walls of the classrooms and re-roofing with grass to help keep them cool, connecting a small biogas unit for the school kitchen so they can grow and cook their own food, digging a compost pit and creating a new school sign to hang over their gate.

Teacher training and staff retention is also highlighted as a challenge by the head teacher, which he explains is partly due to a lack of facilities. So we look at how we can populate the library with

improved resources and support the teachers to utilise online facilities. We will also initiate a pen pal programme, so the children in Nepal can make contact with a UK school, to share their stories and ideas, different ways of doing things such as growing vegetables.

The second project that I was in Nepal to help develop is part of a wider

international series of programmes run by the British Council. The vast majority of the people living in the far west survive on subsistence agriculture and due to limited employment opportunities, many of them have to travel eight or nine hours to Kathmandu just to work. The area was one of the most affected from Nepal’s civil war and subsequently there are a lot of displaced families well below the poverty line. Discrimination against women, who generally stay and tend the fields and livestock, is also quite a challenge and there is a distinct stagnation in local sustainable development and education.

Our project aims to combat some of these issues directly, and the principle we have embedded is to create a self-sufficient project with a social enterprise element. The village community group landed on the idea to develop a community fish farm. This will benefit hundreds of families in the village, creating an asset and ongoing income for the community, while also ensuring a level of inclusion

and involvement of women alongside a recreational space. The profits from the sale of the fish will be reinvested into the pond’s management, as well as being distributed equally amongst the various community groups involved. The community are also considering a microfinance scheme to be developed from the profits, to assist individuals

All too soon we have to head back towards Kathmandu for my return home. Our journey back takes us up into the Himalayas, through areas where few tourists venture

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If you happen to find yourself in Lerwick on the last Tuesday in January you might be greeted by a Viking horde, part of the Shetlands’ Up Helly Aa festival, a riotous event that sees 800 men (called guizers – another word for masqueraders) in Viking gear being led around the town by their leader or Jarl, and setting fire to a dragon ship. Festivities go on well into the next morning – which explains why the following Wednesday is a public holiday in Lerwick and nowhere else.

You could be forgiven for thinking that this is a re-enactment of a centuries-old Viking celebration – the Shetlands after all, were part of Norway until the 15th century – but it is in fact a more recent invention. The first Up Helly Aa was held in the 1880s – as an alternative to the more informal tradition that had sprung up of drunken young men dragging burning barrels of tar around the town on sledges and having fights. If celebrating the arrival of bloodthirsty marauding Vikings doesn’t sound that different in essence, what marks it out, is the sheer amount of preparation that goes into the celebration; work begins on the costumes of the Jarl and his guizers the previous September. This should be enough of an indication that this is a serious community event and not just an excuse to get legless, though legless they get. Moreover, each Jarl has

to wait 15 years for his turn to maraud, showing patience that few Vikings could have mustered.

Community events and celebrations are often taken for granted, but while not every community event requires horned helmets, these events and celebrations often give a community a sense of identity and common purpose – albeit briefly – that can be invaluable, and goes way beyond the oohs and aahs of a municipal firework display.

Fire is, of course a popular element of winter celebrations, whether that’s the relatively contained flames inside the astonishing lanterns that have wended their way through

Ulverston for over 30 years, or the fiery ‘squibs’ that send a river of fire down Bridgwater high street every autumn as part of the Bridgwater Festival, which claims to be the oldest illuminated carnival in England. Like Up Helly Aa the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival arose out of another less appealing tradition, in this case the burning of old wooden boats, which became the burning of nice new wooden boats when they ran out of old wrecks. Channelling those energies in a new direction the

Bridgwater Festival was born in 1605, the year of the Gunpowder Plot.

Traditional community events can be a powerful way of proclaiming a local identity, stating who you are – or who you aren’t. In the Shetlands it’s a belated celebration of a Viking heritage that is distinct from Scotland, while Bridgwater’s claims to be the first to have burned Guys may have been a means to help distance its inhabitants from the instigator of the Gunpowder Plot, a local Jesuit priest called Robert Parsons.

Traditional events, can however, alienate people as well if they are treated as exclusive rather than inclusive events;

it’s very much about the spirit in which they’re intended. The more obscure an event’s origins, the more ‘local’ it can seem to outsiders, but that doesn’t mean it’s only for locals. Witness the numbers that attend ’Obby ’Oss in Padstow on May Day, where ‘teasers’ guide two ’Obby ’Osses around the town to a maypole. Its ‘localness’ is certainly part of its allure for inhabitants and visitors alike and it’s doubtful that anyone local or otherwise has the definitive answer to what the ritual means.

Shin-kicking, bog snorkelling and birdmen: how local celebrations and events can transform communities for the better Rob Lowe

These events and celebrations often give a community a sense of identity and common purpose

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That is not unusual and it doesn’t really matter – the original motives for many traditional celebrations, including religious ones, have long since been replaced by a more general desire to get together and do something; the traditional events and celebrations that have survived tend to have done so because they have changed to reflect their changing communities and welcome a wider audience. When Robert Drover held the first Olimpick Games in 1612 they were ostensibly intended to improve physical fitness amongst the inhabitants of Chipping Camden and included a shin-kicking contest. Over the years the games became a means of aggravating puritans, an opportunity to get drunk and make money, and today it is really just a community festival, though the shin-kicking contest is still surprisingly popular.

Silly season favourites like the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling, which involves chasing after a truckle of cheese down an incredibly steep hill in Gloucestershire, have remained popular precisely because they are inclusive. There’s no application form, entry fee or official requirements for the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling, though it’s recommended that you ensure your last will and testament is up-to-date. ‘Contestants’ come from all over the world to risk their necks on Cooper’s Hill every year – and win; in 2013 two of the four races were won by an American and a Japanese respectively. Being local clearly doesn’t confer any advantages when it comes to hurling yourself down a hill after a Double Gloucester.

As Up Helly Aa shows, however, you don’t need an existing tradition to create a new one. The UK’s most famous

carnival, the Notting Hill Carnival draws on West Indian traditions but its first incarnation was a community children’s street party devised by a former social worker who lived in the area. When the band went for a wander, the carnival tradition was reborn and the following year thousands came and now hundreds of thousands of people attend the carnival.

If some of the weirder traditional celebrations sound as if they were dreamt up in the pub, it’s almost certain that the newer ones were. If you fancy being a world champion and don’t really mind what in, then there are a host of events to choose from. There are World Championships in stone skimming, pea shooting, bog snorkelling and belly boarding. There is even an International Birdman competition which offers a prize of £10,000 to anyone who can ‘fly’

Above: Edward Ling’s Freedom Flyer competing in the 2014 Worthing Birdman competition. Photo by David Sawyer, thephotographer.biz.Right: ‘Obby Oss. Photo by Sue Hill.Opposite: A lantern parade at the Eden Project.Previous page: Squibbing at the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival. Photo by Timeless Images.

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further than 85 metres off the end of Worthing Pier. Events like these aren’t just eccentric, they’re inclusive and fun, and more often than not make use of the landscape the community inhabits; the sense of place and purpose that events and celebrations provide is invaluable.

There’s no doubt that community events are also a great way to revitalise local economies. Bog snorkelling was one of many ideas dreamt up over the bar of the Neuadd Hotel in Wales by Gordon Green, its proprietor, and his customers, as was ‘Man v. Horse’ (a race not wrestling match thankfully) and a ‘Real Ale Wobble’ which mixes bicycles and beer. As the local pony trekking industry declined, ideas like these generated a new interest in the area. Today Green Events is a not-for-profit company, and its events are run by volunteers, helping to keep the local economy going.

But you don’t have to set out with the intention of creating a tourist friendly event or celebration for the community to benefit. The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival began as a small community celebration of the 300th anniversary of Portsoy harbour. The community’s desire to make it an annual event because it was fun has come a long way, with 16,000 visitors in 2014 who brought £1m into the local economy. The villagers can’t quite believe its success and have reinvested some of the profits of previous years in a heritage site with a community event space, and a caravan park, and they have plans to create more accommodation nearby.

Communities struggle with all sorts of problems and it might seem like there’s precious little to celebrate sometimes, but events do bring people together and can create a sense of

place and pride where none existed. Sometimes it’s not funds or facilities that you need, but the ability to look at your neighbourhood in a different light, as a place where anything can happen if you let it.

The Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival 2015 is on Saturday 7 November. www.bridgwatercarnival.org.uk

The International Birdman Competition is on 15 and 16 August, 2015. www.worthingbirdman.co.uk

Scottish Traditional Boat Festival is on 3 - 5 July.www.stbfportsoy.com

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Eden on an early summer’s morning with Steve pointing out the best views of a place he clearly loves. For the first time I understood the scale of what has been created and the extraordinary vision of its creators.

After a quick cup of tea we headed into the Rainforest Biome. It was pleasantly cool at this time of day and, with two hours until the first visitors arrived, the Rainforest Team were busy. We were given an extensive tour by Hetty Ninnis, Rainforest Supervisor. Like Steve, it was obvious that Hetty loves her work and the plants that she cares for. Carried away with enthusiasm, Hetty spent almost an hour guiding us through the Biome and pointing out favourite plants and a few birds and insects before leading us to the breathtaking aerial platform

to survey the view. Then she put us to work. We were each assigned an Eden Apprentice to work with and given an area to water. We needed to get a move on if we were to be done in time for the visitors to arrive but the hoses were

more like the ones used by firemen than your usual domestic hose and it gave me time to take in a small area in more detail whilst chatting to Aysha, who I discovered had spent her summer camping in a nearby field in order to work as a volunteer at Eden. Soon the temperature was rising and the doors to

the Biome were opened. It was time for our next task.

‘You’ll be spending the next couple of hours in the Outdoor Biome,’ said Steve. ‘The one under the sky...’ Steve’s area of interest turned out to be crops in the broadest sense. We went on an extensive tour of the outdoor exhibits which showed crops from around the globe including fibres such as hemp and flax, medicinal plants, tea, barley, hops, fruit of all kinds and every vegetable under the sun. I particularly enjoyed seeing the ‘Global Allotments’ which showed the variety of food that can be grown in this part of the UK. Our visit was greatly enhanced by Steve’s immense knowledge of plants and his enthusiasm in sharing it with us. ‘Are you interested in compost?’ We nodded and were rewarded with a visit to a facility that few visitors get to see, where we learned as much about

I have to admit that I felt apprehensive as I approached the Eden Project for the first time. I was travelling in a taxi with my mother. We had been given the gift of being ‘Gardener for a Day’ at the Eden Project by my very thoughtful husband and had been looking forward to our visit for weeks.

However, now that the day was finally here I felt acutely aware of our limitations...my mum is 69 years old and has a new knee. I was suffering with a bad back. What if they made us dig all day long or turn giant compost heaps? What if there were other fitter, more talented and knowledgeable

gardeners? What if our gardening tasks actually limited the amount we were able to see and do in a day? And would they give us a cup of tea? After all, it was 7.30am and breakfast at our B&B in St Austell had been rather rushed.

We were met in an open jeep by Steve Burrell, a skilled horticulturalist who was to act as our host for the day. He was friendly and welcoming and quickly dispelled any anxiety. It was fun and invigorating to whizz around

Gardener for a Day Rachel Roser

compost as it is possible to cram into 20 minutes. After that we were set to work on an onion bed. Our task was to weed the area and spread out the onions to dry in the sun. This was enjoyable

and satisfying work and we were keen to do a good job in order to show our appreciation to Steve. It was fun when visitors asked us about the onions. By now I felt like an insider and proud of it!

We were ready for our lunch when the time came. We were led once more behind the scenes to the staff area where we ate with the friendly Eden Team and met Shirley Walker, Skilled Horticulturalist, who worked in the Mediterranean Biome where we were

to spend the afternoon. As we passed through the secret ‘Staff Only’ spaces of Eden on our way to the Biome we

came across a strange sight. A tall man in leggings, half in and half out of an uncannily realistic dinosaur suit. He seemed to be receiving instruction from an Victorian Explorer ‘When I make this sign you leap forward and roar. Shake the head and swish the tail. Got it?’ There was a muffled response. Later we were to witness the dinosaur in action. I can tell you, it made quite an impression...especially on the children.

In the Mediterranean Biome Shirley explained how she uses biological pest controls to prevent diseases. We were each given test tubes filled with microscopic predators and told to release them among the peaches, oranges and figs. After that we help Shirley to plant seedlings. Once again

the huge scale of the Eden Project was brought home to me.

At three o’ clock our time as ‘Gardeners for a Day’ was up. Steve presented us with a certificate and a goody bag filled with seeds, pots and other garden goodies. We thanked him wholeheartedly. Though flagging a little by now, we still had time to visit the areas we had not yet seen including the Core Education Centre and the

farther-flung trails and gardens such as the Prairie zone which was gorgeously filled with tall yellow and white daisies.

As the day ended we meandered slowly towards the miniature train that would take us up to the Visitor Centre and the exit. When I asked the train driver if he could direct us to the bus stop he took one look at our weary faces and arranged for a jeep to drive us to it. It was an act of kindness that made a perfect end to a perfect day.

That evening, as we ate at a local pub, we discussed how to bring a little of Eden into our gardens at home. We had been inspired by our visit and by the staff who generously shared their time and knowledge with us. It was their enthusiasm and expertise, as much as the opportunity to see behind the scenes, that enhanced our visit to The Eden Project and made the experience of being ‘Gardener for a Day’ into a day I will never forget.

To find out more about Gardener for a Day visit edenproject.com/gardener-for-a-day

Most restoration sites are on remote and difficult terrain (flat areas, near roads, are mostly already used for agriculture). Current forest restoration projects therefore usually involve laboriously hauling baskets of saplings to restoration sites, usually on foot, many kilometres from the nearest roads, planting them and then returning 3-4 times per year, to carry out weeding and fertilizer application, for at least 2 years. Recruiting the labour for such back-breaking work in such remote locales is almost impossible. Another problem is finding enough seeds to grow the planting stock. Wandering randomly through remnant forest, looking for fruiting trees of desired species, is very hit-or-miss, so lack of seed supply has become a major limitation of forest restoration projects.

If we are to achieve the UN target by 2030, we must begin to think outside the box. And at Chiang Mai University’s Forest Restoration Research Unit (FORRU), we think that advances in drone

technology and computer-aided plant recognition may provide an alternative. It’s time to move restoration technology from the stone age to the drone age!

Take seed collection. A seed collection team, walking along a footpath, searching for fruits in the forest canopy from beneath, finds very few fruiting trees in a day. But a drone, flying above the canopy, would be able to log the GPS co-ordinates of many such trees in just a few minutes, and transmit them back to the seed collection team immediately. Auto-recognition of tree species from the shapes of their crowns is already possible.

How about replacing conventional tree planting with aerial seeding from drones? Drones can fly directly to the planting sites and drop seeds with high precision. The seeds could be protected within biodegradable ‘seed bombs’, containing everything needed to maximize germination and seedling

survival – hydrogel, slow release fertilizer, symbiotic microbes etc.

Weeding would be essential to maximize survival of aerially seeded trees. But drones could help with

Could robots revive rainforests?Stephen Elliott, The Forest Restoration Research

Unit, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

At the recent UN Climate Summit in New York, businesses and governments pledged to speed up restoration to convert 350 million hectares of degraded forestland back into forest by 2030 – an area greater than the whole of India. This would have huge benefits for the climate, by storing carbon and taking pressure off primary forests. But how could this be achieved, on such a vast scale, so quickly?

If we are to achieve the UN target by 2030, we must begin to think outside the box ... we think that advances in drone technology and computer-aided plant recognition may provide an alternative

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that too. How about a drone which uses plant recognition technology to spray a systemic, non-residual herbicide on grasses and other weeds, but avoids spraying young trees? So called ‘smart spraying’ is already used in horticulture.

And lastly there’s monitoring. Drones are already being used to photograph field sites. Image analysis techniques could easily be developed to track changes in the ratio of tree crown cover to weeds, thus making it possible to plot progress towards the first milestone

of any forest restoration project: canopy closure.

Drones could recharge their batteries on-site, using electromagnetic induction pads, connected to solar-charged batteries, raising the intriguing possibility of the whole restoration process ultimately becoming automated.

A few years ago, all this was regarded as science fiction, more appropriate for the plot of a Star Trek movie than for serious consideration. But not any more. Most of these technologies already exist…we just

have to improve them and combine them in innovative ways to automate forest restoration tasks.

So it’s time for a serious discussion. Otherwise, pledges to restore hundreds of millions of hectares of forest are no more than a pipe dream.

Preparing a drone for take-off

Forest Restoration Research Unit www.forru.org

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We’re here to see what David calls ‘the oldest yet newest technology’ being demonstrated. The device is a CarbonCatcher, and it produces biochar – clean charcoal for agricultural purposes – which not only captures carbon but has the potential to transform soil fertility.

Biochar is a far cry from the charcoal you put on your barbecue, which often has oil and tar in it so it burns well enough to cook your sausages – well, on the outside at least. Biochar isn’t made to be burned, it’s made to be buried.

It’s incredibly simple to make – you load your biomass (in our case dried woodchips) into the top and light it and then wait. There’s no smoke, just a flicker that darkens as the wood begins to pyrolyse. As the name biochar suggests, pyrolysis doesn’t burn, it chars. Burning organic matter releases

almost all of its carbon; charring it via pyrolysis only releases around half, the rest is captured in the biochar itself.

As we wait, David explains the process to us. The charcoal produced retains the cell structure of the original plants from which it’s made. Essentially you’re left with a kind of carbon shell of the plant. If you look closely at a piece of charcoal, you’ll see it’s incredibly porous – gas absorption tests have shown that a gram of charcoal has the same surface area as two tennis courts.

It’s thought that the native people of the Amazon were the first to discover the benefits of biochar. Archaeologists had argued that the natural fertility of the Amazonian basin’s yellow or reddish soil was so poor that it was incapable of supporting the vast civilisations that the conquistadors claimed to have seen. But there was one exception, the black soil known as terra preta which according to

recent research is capable of yielding up to four times more than crops grown on conventional soil. It’s not clear whether the biochar was created specifically for this purpose, or just a by-product of hearth fires, but there’s no question that terra preta is incredibly fertile and that its properties have longevity. It’s estimated that biochar-treated soil could improve the soil for centuries, perhaps even a few thousand years.

It’s not the biochar itself that increases the soil’s fertility; biochar is actually relatively inert. Instead, as David puts it, each piece of charcoal provides ‘a tower block for microbes’ and other important soil flora and fauna which in turn provide nutrients for plants. Biochar also increases the water-holding capacity of the soil and reduces its acidity, both of which help increase crop yields. Biochar can also help improve soil structure by breaking it up and increasing porosity.

David says that the work that the Soil Fertility Project has done with Social Change and Development (SCAD) in southern India suggests that biochar’s properties can be further enhanced by treating it before it is added to the soil. According to trials they conducted in Tamil Nadu, crops grown on biochar-treated soil coped better when the monsoon failed. SCAD is working with farmers in the

The new ‘black gold’Rob Lowe

It’s a blustery morning in late November as we leave the Foundation Building with David Friese-Greene of the Soil Fertility Project. As we turn the corner towards Pineapple car park, there is a glint beside the entrance of Wild Chile, where what looks like a very small spaceship is being tended by Michael Cutler, Eden’s Horticultural Technical Engineer.

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area to test a number of variations to see if it has any impact on yields; one woman has had such good results that she refuses to consider testing the alternatives, saying it would be a waste of land. Because they use waste biomass, biochar becomes a cost-efficient way to improve the soil. Demand for biochar mix in Tamil Nadu is increasing all the time and the challenge is to educate and support rural farmers so they can make their own biochar/fertiliser mixes.

It takes two hours for the wood chip to be transformed – as Michael releases the catch, it hisses into the bucket underneath. It’s jet black, more steam rises as they water it. And that’s it. The biochar is nothing like commercial charcoal – smear it on your hands and it washes off instantly. You can even eat it, as David demonstrates – strangely enough the rest of us decline, despite the

fact it’s well past lunchtime. He assures us it is tasteless, though later admits it can get caught between your teeth.

It’s odd to think that this simple process has the potential to transform people’s lives. The CarbonCatcher isn’t the only biochar producing machine – there are commercial-scale units available, but this isn’t about making money as far as David and his co-creator James Bruges are concerned. The CarbonCatcher is both portable and relatively inexpensive to make, and they believe it could be even cheaper if made in India. More importantly, it’s open source. The designs have been made available to anyone who wants to make one.

The Soil Fertility Project has generously loaned us a CarbonCatcher, so today’s batch will be the first of many produced at Eden as Michael

explores the possibilities it has to improve our soil quality. Because manufacturing biochar also takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequesters it, there may also be a chance to use these experiments to increase awareness of what could be a powerful tool to meet the challenges of an unstable climate and reduce the world’s CO

2 emissions: a new kind of

black gold perhaps.

Soil Fertility Project: www.soilfertilityproject.comSocial Change and Development: www.scad.org.inInternational Biochar Initiative: www.biochar-international.org

Above: Biochar produced by the CarbonCatcher.Left: The CarbonCatcher in action.

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The protection of the Amazon is important for everyone. It is a beautiful part of our natural world that is simply irreplaceable but under threat. Every four seconds, 80 trees are lost. That’s 1.72 million trees a day. If the current rates of deforestation continue, a quarter of the Amazon will be gone by 2030, which is an area the same size as Spain. Through Sky Rainforest Rescue, Sky and WWF are working to help protect one billion trees in Acre, north-west Brazil.

The partnership has been running for four years and has raised an incredible £8.6 million, which has enabled WWF to achieve vital work on the ground. Sky and WWF have been making a real difference in the Amazon helping protect the future of the rainforest. A great example of this is through the Acre government’s land certification scheme. So far, over 1,500 small-scale farming families have been taught how to manage their land and how to sustainably earn an income as well as being supported to move away from the slash-and-burn methods.

Sky Rainforest Rescue have also trained and equipped local Brazilian rubber tappers in Acre to tap wild rubber trees for liquid latex without harming the tree. By improving market conditions and prices for wild rubber means that the rubber tappers can generate an income from the forest without cutting down trees.

Bringing the Amazon home to people

Sky Rainforest Rescue has additionally provided capacity building to 96 teachers in the Amazon. Each teacher was provided with an ‘Environmental Education Rucksack’, which included useful learning tools. However it’s not only schools in the Amazon that have been benefitting. Here in the UK, 75,000 children have taken part in our ‘I Love Amazon Schools’ programme and learnt more about the rainforest. The free initiative is designed to offer pupils aged 5-11 the chance to explore the wonders of rainforests, whilst learning why they are so crucial to the health of our planet.

Sky Rainforest Rescue has brought the Amazon to the UK’s doorsteps and engaged the public about the issues regarding deforestation in the Amazon through awareness campaigns, programming, experimental exhibits and the media. Sky Rainforest Rescue has raised awareness of the Amazon rainforest far and wide across the UK with over 7,000 people pledging to change their behaviour and become forest friendly. So far 7.3 million people in the UK have an increased awareness of deforestation as a result of Sky Rainforest Rescue. Keeping one billion trees standing in Acre is no mean feat but it can’t be done alone. People who visit Eden to experience the life of a rubber tapper can also play a part, by sharing the message.

A high five for Sky Rainforest RescueAimee Aldersley, Senior Engagement Manager,

Sky Rainforest Rescue partnership, WWF UK

The Amazon rainforest is home to an astonishing 1 in 10 of all the wild species on Earth. As well as being a regulator of climate change, the Amazon rainforest represents over 40% of the remaining tropical forests in the world, spanning 8 countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and French Guiana.

You can find more information at rainforestrescue.sky.com, facebook.com/rainforestrescue or twitter.com/skyrainforest.

Stand with the trees and support Sky Rainforest Rescue Rainforest Rescue cannot do it alone. With the help of people coming together and making one small change we can achieve so much more. Here are some examples of how you can help by making one small change that works for you and your lifestyle:

1. Use recycled paper and cardboard. With rising global populations and growing wealth across the worlds, the demand for wood and fibre from forests to make paper, wood products and use for energy generation is increasing.

2. When you buy products, choose recycled or those labelled with the FSC label (Forest Stewardship Council) to ensure you’re supporting legal and sustainable forest management. Look out for FSC labelled products, which come from well-managed forests, so you’re supporting responsible forest management instead of illegal or unsustainable logging. You can find the FSC label on paper, books, garden furniture, rubber flip flops, toilet tissue and all sorts of other products.

3. Buy products that come from the Amazon rainforest. This helps make the rainforest worth more standing and helps reduce pressures to deforestation. These could be Brazil nuts, which need intact rainforest to prosper, or wild rubber and açaí berries which help support local economies.

Parque Nacional do Juruena. Photo by Adriano Gambarini, WWF-Brasil.

Eden also recruited a new Media Relations apprentice, namely me! I’m working with Eden’s Media Relations team while studying Digital & Creative Media at Plymouth College of Art. Before this I did a degree in Theatre & Performance, but I decided to pursue my enjoyment of media and apply for the Eden Project Apprenticeship Scheme. The scheme aims to give enthusiastic young people valuable work experience and qualifications while getting paid.

Eden’s Head of HR, Dawn George explains how the apprenticeship programme has developed.

‘It was right for Eden as an educational charity that we do more apprenticeships. We already do work with schools and with higher education, but we didn’t really have anything to bridge the gap.’

The Eden Project has previously run one-year horticulture apprenticeships, but Eden was determined to give apprentices

more experience, so the two-year apprenticeships were put in place.

Graphic Design Apprentice, Bryony Simpson, 19, is from Lostwithiel. Bryony has a certificate in Graphic Design alongside a BTEC in Media Production, which she did at Cornwall College. ‘I was at college for three years, I did A-Levels in my first year and worked at a call centre for two years in between college, but nothing really related to what I’m doing now. The Eden apprenticeship programme was offering what I was really interested in.’

Like me, Bryony is studying once a week at Plymouth College of Art as part of the apprenticeship and is enjoying her time there.

Bryony spends most of her time producing signage for events at Eden. She has made some graphics for catering; signage for this year’s Eden Marathon, contributed to Eden leaflets and is currently working on the background for a display that will be going in the Visitor Centre.

‘I’m getting involved in everything really, I’m not just stuck to one area. I really like coming in and being able to work as part of a team and if I don’t know something somebody else will. Working in a group gives me ways to expand my knowledge.’

Bryony is hoping to develop her skills in graphic design and gain experience to help her in the future. ‘I’m really enjoying what I’m doing at the moment, so I think it’s something I want to do in the future. Apprenticeships are really good. It’s definitely something I would recommend.’

Chef Apprentice Kieran Douglas, 19, is from St Blazey. Kieran spent three years studying engineering at Cornwall College, while working in a pub kitchen, which helped him gain some experience and sparked his love for cooking. ‘I enjoyed it more in the kitchen than I did when I was doing engineering, so I thought I’d follow my enjoyment of cooking.’

Kieran gets the opportunity to work in a range of kitchens at Eden and is currently working in the Eden Kitchen. ‘I’m loving it and the people who I work with are all great. They are patient with me and that’s all I can ask for really. Eden’s been part of my upbringing. I first came here in a hard hat when I was six and my auntie and uncle worked here as well, it’s in my blood.’

Eden ApprenticeshipsJessica Hill, Media Relations apprentice

The Eden Project launched its biggest-ever apprenticeship programme in partnership with Cornwall College in May 2014. The apprenticeships cover a variety of Eden teams such as Horticulture (Gardener), Holistic Cookery (Chef) and Visitor Experience (Host).

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Eden is hoping to bring in an additional 25-30 apprentices each year, largely in the Holistic Cookery (Chef), Visitor Experience (Host) and Horticulture (Gardener) teams. Dawn is very pleased with how the apprenticeships are going so far and has received a lot of positive feedback from staff and visitors alike, which has been encouraging for the Eden Project Learning Team to see.

Much like the rest of the apprentices, I’m really enjoying working here and I learn something new every day. I think these apprenticeships are a great opportunity for young people and for the Eden Project. I look forward to developing and learning new skills over the course of this apprenticeship and I’m hopeful that it will lead me, and the rest of the apprentices, to go on and do great things in our chosen areas of study and practice.

To find out more visit edenproject.com/apprenticeships

Kieran is enjoying his time here at Eden and has done his first three-week block at Cornwall College, ‘I’ve learnt a lot so far. Nathan Outlaw and his Head Chef came into college to do a demo, they were really good.’

Kieran hopes that the apprenticeship will help him work his way up the job ladder and become a great chef, ‘Whether that’s staying here or going on to somewhere else, I’m not going to stop learning when I finish.’

Horticulture Apprentice Jo Aitchison, 22, is originally from Hull, but came to Fowey last summer and decided to stay. ‘I planned to stay with my godparents and then go travelling around the world. It sounded like a good idea, until it came to the end of summer then I had to think about what I wanted to do.’

Previously Jo has worked as a barmaid and as a care worker doing projects with people with disabilities. But she was looking for a change of occupation and that’s when she came across the apprenticeship scheme. ‘I knew I wanted to be outside, doing something physical and green. If I

hadn’t seen the Eden apprenticeship poster I probably wouldn’t have been as motivated to do it. I’ve just been in the right place at the right time.’

All the horticulture apprentices are rotated around different parts of site, so they gain a variety of experience. So far Jo has worked in the Mediterranean Biome on temporary displays, and is now working in the outside gardens. ‘We do all sorts and it changes every single day. It’s good because it keeps you stimulated. If we were doing the same things day in day out it would be boring, but that’s what I like about it.’

Jo is enjoying her time at Eden and Cornwall College and is hoping to gain experience and knowledge throughout the apprenticeship. ‘You don’t realise how much there is to learn, but you get here and there are lots of different species of plant and they’ve all got families.’ Jo has set her sights on garden design and would love to pursue it as a career or start up her own business. ‘I know now that horticulture is definitely what I want to do. I’d like to stay as part of the Eden Team or go on to another adventure.’

Above: Jo Aitchison, Horticulture Apprentice.Right: Kieran Douglas, Chef Apprentice.Previous page: Tony Trenerry, Eden’s Head Chef, shows some apprentices how to make paella.

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Across

1. Sweet given by unorthodox schoolteacher (not hers!) (9)6. Material that’s mined from right to left (5)9. 1000' beast? (9)11. Crazy like Hazel? (5)12. A root vegetable from Stockholm? (5)13. Fruit drink of the gods in east (9)15. Large sea, neither large nor small? (3)16. Iron men entering broken vent - a cause for concern at Eden? (11)20. Singer with 'The Body' of a mushroom (11)23. Shelter covering back half of garden (3)24. Certain in step and highly prized (9)27. Diplomat’s deadly sin, as reported in Birmingham? (5)28. Live around Isle of Man in ecological community (5)29. Start of drama, and indirect moving about like a tree (9)32. Sheriff among Nottinghamshire evergreens (5)33. A measure of stupidity, something which might make the jungle impenetrable? (9)

Down1. Beginnings of cirque widen, making Welsh valley (3)2. Petroleum plus grain equals rape of the land! (7)3. Oxygen-breathing Mediterranean tree (5)4. Beer given by half-cut female (3)5. Eden’s fruit picker (3)6. Girl who’s deadly poison with Bella (5)7. Chemical compound – something taken on sleeper train, by the sound of it? (7)8. Exist underneath hawthorn, perhaps (5)

10. Maybe madder in mid-year (3)12. A shrub Camus wrote about (5)13. Guinevere conceals how often I promised you a rose garden? (5)14. Bits of oat going up Chinese path (3)16. Dine on tea in different order (3)17. Controlled with lines (5)18. Born with knees missing outside edges (3)19. Nasty changes to yellow roadside herb (5)21. Garden flower, helping to make Brisbane money (7)

22. Australian bird’s femur, with both ends broken off (3)23. Select constituents of Bude vote early for religious adherent (7)24. Potato, say, making sound of large brass instrument (5)25. View looked at earlier, we hear (5)26. King Edward’s small growth next to nose? (3)27. Spooky-sounding nest (5)29. Old man starts to dig and delve (3)30. Sister hiding in kitchen unit (3)31. Reduced cost lettuce (3)

The Friends Crosswordby Maize

‘Maize’ is a crossword fiend who works at Eden. Answers on p.28

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 11

15 17 18

22

24 26

28

19

10

13 12

25

23 20

27

16

21

14

29 30 31

32 33

‘As you value your life or your reason, keep away from the moor,’ Sir Henry Baskerville is warned; good advice given the number of murders and accidental deaths that seem to take place amidst their wastes. It’s not a warning that William Atkins heeds, however, and the result, part-travelogue, part history and literary survey, challenges the view of one 18th-century Board of Agriculture report that a moor is a ‘useless and void space’.

In reality, moors are of course far from empty wastelands. They have provided inspiration for novelists and poets who have populated the moors’ expanses with characters and used the bleak solitude they offer as a whetstone for their art. Ted Hughes lived on Dartmoor; Exmoor provided the setting for Lorna Doone and Tarka the Otter; while Haworth Moor famously helped shaped the Brontë sisters’ fiction. In turn these works have shaped people’s expectations about the moors themselves. The Doone valley, it turns out, doesn’t match the one described in the novel. As Atkins notes, generations of literary tourists have been disappointed by how thriving and far from desolate is Haworth village, and Daphne Du

The MoorWilliam Atkins Faber & Faber, £18.99

Maurier felt guilty about the tourist centre Jamaica Inn later became.

Moorland is limited to the south-west and north of England, but the moors themselves have more in common with each other than the surrounding countryside. Atkins’s prose is quietly poetic. Caught in thickening mist on Exmoor, a pond becomes ‘the fog’s cauldron’, a fox’s skull is a ‘light as a blown egg’. For Atkins, moorlands are places of beauty and variety, not monotony; he notes, ‘Try to name its colours and you’ll exhaust yourself’. The past exerts the strongest influence on The Moor. Its pages come to life with stories of men who have tried and failed to tame the moors they lived upon, the floods that have swept across them: a ‘bog burst’ on Haworth Moor almost deprived us of the Brontë sisters’ novels, while another flood in 1952 on Dartmoor killed 35 people. Its inhabitants prove to be just as dangerous. Before the Beast of Bodmin Moor, there was the Monster, who killed his sweetheart for rejecting him, and the still unsolved Victorian murder of the father and son who were bludgeoned to death at the inn they kept on Saddleworth Moor. Wisely, Atkins only gives limited space to the Moors Murderers, whose crimes would otherwise eclipse the narrative, a shadow both longer and darker than any the moors themselves could cast. Often ignored, England’s moors shape the communities that live upon and around them; not a void then, but perhaps best avoided by the faint of heart.

The Friends Crossword Solution – see page 27 Across: 1 Chocolate, 6 Denim, 9 Millipede, 11 Nutty, 12 Swede, 13 Nectarine, 15 Med, 16 Environment, 20 Chanterelle, 23 Den, 24 Treasured, 27 Envoy, 28 Biome, 29 Dendritic, 32 Reeve, 33 Denseness.

Down: 1 Cwm, 2 Oilseed, 3 Olive, 4 Ale, 5 Eve, 6 Donna, 7 Nitride, 8 Maybe, 10 Dye, 12 Sumac, 13 Never, 14 Tao, 16 Eat, 17 Ruled, 18 Nee, 19 Tansy, 21 Anemone, 22 Emu, 23 Devotee, 24 Tuber, 25 Scene, 26 Eye, 27 Eyrie, 29 Dad, 30 Nun, 31 Cos.

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Billed as 5-9 adventures for people who work 9-5, this book shows that adventures don’t have to take place in deserts, or involve vast amounts of time and equipment, but can be had practically on your doorstep with the bare minimum of stuff. Alistair Humphreys makes microadventures sound easy – so easy you wonder why you’ve not done one before.

A key part of a microadventure is to break out of the routine and see the world afresh. Waking in a field at sunrise, catching sight of wild animals you’ve only ever seen in a children’s book going about their business, wild swimming, or catching and cooking your dinner, these are all microadventures. But microadventures aren’t just about getting closer to nature, these are adventures in the oldest sense of the word: they’re often quests. Arbitrary quests, but quests nonetheless, whether that’s challenging yourself to walk home for Christmas, walk around the Isle of Wight, or travel the length of the Shetland Isles on bike and raft (you might want to work up to this one). You could visit the houses where your parents were born in a single day, or follow the path of a famous journey. There are no excuses – as he points out, even the Queen is only 15 miles from a prime wild camping spot.

The book offers 38 different microadventures that Alistair has tried out, from ‘the one-day adventure’ in which you’re invited to hop on a train and get off about 30 miles from where you live and then cycle back using only a compass, to walking around the M25. It helpfully includes a kit list, advice on finding a location for your microadventure, navigating by the sun, cloudspotting and, even more useful, advice on sleeping out without a tent, which is probably the bit that most new microadventurers baulk at.

Social media is awash with people undertaking their own microadventures, between school runs, in cities, dragging their bikes up hillsides, and turning up to work with grass in their hair, showing that there’s very little to stop you from trying it yourself and still make it home in time for tea – or breakfast at the very least.

There are some places that only exist in memory. The House of Commons, Hollis reminds us, is only 60 years old, recreated after parliament was bombed in 1941, and that building was only created in 1834, after the Palace of Westminster was accidently set alight. The original site of the Commons, St Stephen’s Chapel, sits within its successor’s footprint – though even this is not the original home of the Commons, merely its first permanent base, the House of Commons being an entirely mobile entity convened at his majesty’s pleasure, wherever and whenever his majesty required.

In The Memory Palace Edward Hollis brings to light lost corners of the past. Places of temporary – and temporal – significance are disinterred from past accounts: Louis XIV’s private toilet at Versailles which also served as the nerve centre of his private secret service, the Great Exhibition, haunted by Queen Victoria until it was dismantled (a bit like the last day of the Chelsea Flower Show), and places that are in some sense notional, rather than physical, such as the exchequer (a cloth used to count out the King’s money). Hollis is reluctant to confine himself to buildings. Objects such as clocks and cabinets of curiosity are also included, and the reader spends more time in Hollis’s grandmother’s living room – which is used to frame each chapter – than one might like. But together these essays invite the reader to rethink the past, and Hollis shows how rooms, objects, whole buildings can pass into memory, yet leave an indelible mark long after they are gone.

MicroadventuresAlistair Humphreys William Collins, £16.99

The Memory PalaceEdward Hollis Portobello, £7.99

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Learn from an Eden expert the principles and practices of growing plants from seed both in containers and outdoors. This comprehensive course will cover seed collection, cleaning and storage, seed dormancy and viability, differing methods of seed sowing and irrigation requirements.

Growing Media and Potting will focus on the principles and methods of establishing plants in different soils and compost mixes, and types and sizes of containers. Techniques for potting-on plants of varying sizes will be demonstrated, with plenty of opportunity to try it yourself.

Vegetative Propagation looks at why and how we use distinct methods, such as cuttings, division and layering, to reproduce plants, including the chance to practise techniques under an expert eye. Collection and preparation of plant material, correct use of tools and the aftercare and protection of the final results will also be discussed, demonstrated and practised.

Seed Propagation

Horticulture Courses

Growing Media and Potting

Vegetative Propagation

Saturday 14 Feb 2015, 10am – 4.30pmWatering Lane Nursery, £50

Saturday 7 Mar 2015, 10am – 4.30pmWatering Lane Nursery, £50

Saturday 28 Mar 2015, 10am – 4.30pmWatering Lane Nursery, £50

Payment for courses is required at time of booking. For more information or to book your place, please email boxoffice@edenproject.com or telephone 01726 811911.

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Eden Events in 2015

www.edenproject.com

WildWorks brought snow to the rainforest this winter.