episode 209| show notes & advice
episode description
The Eden Project and The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall are two of the most important horticultural projects of recent times, both helmed by the brilliant mind of Sir Tim Smit – Sarah’s guest on the podcast this week.
Tim’s work on pioneering projects like Eden is guided by three pillars that also resonate for Sarah – education, entrepreneurialism, and the environment. In this episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, we gain a rare insight into how Tim brings these values to life in projects that help reconnect people with the land and explore the potential of their own relationships with the natural environment.
In this episode, discover
- Tim’s entrepreneurial streak, and how his Dutch and English heritage has informed his remarkable journey with nature and the environment
- How innovative thinking on sustainability and the environment underpins Tim’s current and future projects, including the new Eden Project in Morecambe Bay
- The huge importance both Tim and Sarah place on improving education for the future of our natural world and the next generation of environmental entrepreneurs
links and references
Order Sarah’s new book - A Year Full of Pots
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Flowers
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Veg
Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook | Sarah Raven
Shop on the Sarah Raven Website
Eden Project Morecambe: https://www.edenproject.com/new-edens/eden-project-morecambe-uk
The Lost Gardens of Heligan: https://www.heligan.com/
Get in touch: info@sarahraven.com
Episode 209 advice sheet
Tim’s life of entrepreneurial projects, starting with Heligan (2:00)
Beyond his early success in the music industry, Tim’s confidence and ability to drive huge projects is apparent in great successes like The Lost Gardens of Heligan and The Eden Project, both of which evidence his love of the natural world.
But the origins of his story start small, with a gifted pig called Horace, and the search for a piece of land in Cornwall.
The importance of educating others (13:15)
For Tim, education is another key pillar of his work and fundamental to understanding who we are as an island nation with a history of growing.
One of Tim’s past projects was a remarkable collaboration with Cranfield University, transforming a bankrupt golf course into an orchard which led to a landmark study on the nutritional differences between modern and heritage fruit varieties.
The garden’s role in the restoration of birds (15:00)
There is immense potential for gardens, no matter their size, to contribute to bird conservation and restoration. Emma explains how she is transforming her own one-acre garden into a diverse, bird-friendly oasis.
This includes vegetable patches, fruit orchards, ornamental plantings and dedicated wild areas, alongside plants such as ivy and yew that provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for birds.
The huge potential of a circular economy and future environmental innovations (16:23)
The third of Tim’s three pillars is the environment, a thread which is deeply interwoven with his educational and entrepreneurial efforts.
At The Eden Project in St Austell, Tim’s team are in the process of engineering a pioneering biothermal heat exchange facility digging down to around 5km beneath the surface to harness the heat stored by the Cornubian Batholith – a huge mass of granite formed around 280 million years ago.
In the stunning setting of Morecambe Bay, a favourite place for Sarah to visit en route to Scotland, Tim’s next project will be a smaller-scale Eden Project which promises to explore the natural possibilities of the unique and ever changing coastal environment.