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How can I make a difference in the planetary emergency?

Rapid climate change, increasing sea levels, rising temperatures, biodiversity loss, deforestation and pollution. The planet is in a state of emergency. If the planet’s health is threatened, so is ours.

This is one of the greatest challenges humans have ever faced. Solving it will be the greatest achievement of our time. We are here to demonstrate that it can be done. Become part of the global movement – the time to act is now.

Find out what we are doing, and what you can do – as an individual or by joining with others.

Energy | Food and water | Nature | Community

Energy

Clouds

Why use renewable energy?

Energy that powers our industries, transport, agriculture and more still mostly comes from fossil fuels. This adds around 59 billion tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) to the atmosphere each year, rapidly warming the climate. Renewable energy and new technologies have the potential to transform the way we live and reduce our impact on the planet.
What can I do?

Energy

  1. Geothermal energy

    Our geothermal plant has been producing heat since June 2023. It heats our Biomes, helping us to completely phase out fossil fuel use. It heats our plant nursery, Growing Point, where we grow plants for our gardens, restaurants and shops.

    Find out more

  2. Electric vehicles

    We use a fleet of Volvo electric vehicles on-site and provide electric car charge points for our visitors.

    More about our partnership

  3. Becoming climate positive

    We’re on the journey to net zero and have committed to becoming a climate-positive organisation by 2030. This means we are aiming to take more greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere than we add by creating carbon sinks and protecting nature.

    More about our journey

  4. Future Eden Projects

    We’re designing future Eden Projects to be built and run sustainably. Designed with low carbon, circular systems which recover water, recycle resources and generate their own energy or use renewable energy.

    New Edens

Energy

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. You must decide what kind of difference you want to make.

Food and Water

Grain crops in the sun

Why does what I eat matter?

What we eat plays a major role in determining the health of the planet. Today, the ways we produce, package and transport food are accelerating climate change, as well as biodiversity loss and pollution. It also has a big impact on water resources and quality.
What can I do?

Food and water

  1. Healthy people, healthy planet

    We celebrate good food – supporting healthy people and a healthy planet, taking a food system rather than a food product approach.

    The future of food

  2. Local and seasonal

    85% of our food ingredients are locally sourced. We use Cornish meat, dairy and eggs in our cafés as well as Cornish salad leaves, when they are in season.

    Why does what I eat matter?

  3. Reducing waste

    We recycle our food waste. A third is recycled on-site in our aerobic composter and is used to feed the plants. The remainder is used to make heat and electricity.

  4. Saving water

    We harvest and recycle water on-site. Around two-thirds of the water we use comes from what we collect and is used to irrigate plants, top up the rainforest waterfall and flush loos. We also monitor and track water quality through our engineering systems and use innovative chemical-free cleaning products, to reduce pollution.

Food

Without leaving home, we can eat and drink our way around the world. We have the power to help, harm or heal the planet just by deciding what’s for dinner.

Biodiversity

Rainforest trees

Why does nature matter?

We share this unique planet with an estimated nine million other lifeforms (and counting). Life, in all its diversity, supports the health of the environment. Today over one million species face extinction and the natural world we rely on is under threat.
What can I do?

Plants and biodiversity

  1. Regenerating nature

    We work to regenerate nature, helping to maintain and create carbon sinks and reduce climate change.

    Why does nature matter?

  2. Protecting and restoring wildflower meadows

    Eden is home to The National Wildflower Centre and Eden Project Wildflower Bank, which bring biodiversity, delight and colour into the lives of communities across the UK by creating new wildflower habitats.

    National Wildflower Centre

  3. Connecting people with nature

    We run programmes for all ages that help people connect with each other and with nature, improving lives while caring for and protecting the planet.

    Nature Connections

  4. Supporting education

    We provide a wealth of learning opportunities for all ages to help people better understand their place in the natural world and inspire them to play their part in its future.

    Education at Eden

Plants

From root to canopy, plants are the Earth’s arterial veins, through which the lifeblood of all the world's living things flows.

Community

Bee colony

Are we stronger together?

The planetary emergency won’t be fixed by nature-based and technological solutions alone. We need social transformation with strong and resilient communities making positive changes where they live. Starting local, we can go global, growing a movement of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
What can I do?

Community

  1. Storytelling

    Humans are hardwired for stories, so we use them to inspire and motivate people to understand and care for their world.

    Our talemaker tours

  2. Supporting people to make positive change where they live

    Our UK wide Eden Project Communities work brings people together to make a positive change where they live and create more resilient communities.

    Eden Project Communities

  3. The Big Lunch

    Every year, millions of neighbours come together for a Big Lunch to share friendship, food and fun. Communities thrive when people know and look out for each other.

    The Big Lunch

  4. Inspiring change-makers

    Our Schools Team provide resources and training for teachers to inspire nature-connected teaching and learning in nature-filled schools.

    Get involved

Community

Much like an innocuous handful of seeds has the power to bloom into a thriving wild habitat, a handful of people can change the course of history.