The Eden Project Pt 2 - The Rainforest Biome
When you go into the Rainforest Biome there’s one thing you need to take with you – a drink – and one thing that you don’t – your coat.
There’s a place you can hang your coat nearby (but not bags) and there are several places you can get a drink. Whether you take my advice or not you’ll probably still come back out feeling as though you’ve just been in a sauna, so it’s no co-incidence that there’s an ice-cream parlour near the exit. The good people at Eden maybe ethical – but they’re not stupid either.
Their claim is that the Rainforest Biome is the “largest rainforest in captivity”, and it’s true to say that it’ll take you a fair time to walk around it – if you can survive the humidity that is.
There are 4 different rainforests re-created in here – the Tropical Islands, South-East Asia, West Africa and Tropical South America. We may think that all rainforests are basically the same, but there are differences and the tour around the biome is both visually interesting and educational. It’s not just about the plants and the crops that are grown, but also about the people that live here.
Everything that you think should be here seems to be here, from mangrove swamps to Banana trees and cashew nuts. There’s even a Canopy Walkway and Peruvian shamanic art if that’s your bag.
There are far too many aspects of this biome to mention here, but, as with all aspects of the Eden Project, it’s all about making you think about our environment rather than just a collection of plants and trees.
The carousel images below are of some Shamanic Art (the Spirit Woman of Ajo Sacha), Roul Roul Partridges and a thought-provoking message.
Before you exit into the Cornish environment, I reckon you’d be hard pushed to resist the Baobab & Rum Bar. Their smoothies comprise of Pineapple Juice, Coconut Milk, Chopped Mint, Baobab Fruit Powder and Panela Sugar (whatever that is). There’s also water of course – and rum if you want to think you’re in the Caribbean. They sell bucket loads of the stuff and it’s not hard to see why.
The Rainforest Biome is a fantastic introduction to what life is all about in the tropics and how it affects us all. You won’t remember everything that you’ve seen on display here, but whatever you do, don’t forget your coat when you leave. This is still Cornwall after all.
Originally posted 2018-12-01 22:57:36.
Lovely. Wonderful what has been achieved actually.
I think so too Shey. When do they expect to build it up there?
It is underway. It is on a huge semi derelict site where the gasometer was… I think they were hoping to do something with that. Certainly it is on the drawings but I don’t know I saw it the last time I passed in a bus. The whole area is high walled, so you can’t really see it except from upstairs in a bus. In its time it has been mills, parking for the bus fleet, you name it, and there was a covered walkway led to the whisky distillery on teh other side of Dock St. so it is a mess, But they have started
That’s good to hear.
Good advise there Malc on how to deal with a temporary move to the tropics 🙂
It was almost a pleasure to get back out into a Cornish winter
Looks fascinating. I remember how horribly hot I felt in the (real) Amazonian rainforest but I reckon I could take it again just for an hour or so 😉
LOL. I imagine you could 🙂