Free entry weekends for specified groups

Eden wouldn’t be the success it is without the invaluable support of our friends, which is whywe run special offers from time to time. On the following dates, we’re offering free entry to the specified groups:

• Friday 20, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 January 2012: volunteers and charity workers
• Friday 27, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2012: Scouts, Guides, Boys Brigade and Girls Brigade members.
• Friday 3, Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 February 2012: NHS employees and members of the Police, Fire Brigade, Ambulance service, Coastguard and RNLI.

How to get free entry

Simply bring proof of employment or membership, eg a payslip or ID badge. Please make it easy for us and remember to bring this with you. We look forward to seeing you!

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• Community

The benefits of tea

We love our tea in Britain. It’s our escape, a comfort, it’s stimulation and inspiration. Tea wraps its warm arms around you and carries on hugging you long after you take your last sip. William Gladstone once said, ‘If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are excited, it will calm you.’

It’s been described as liquid wisdom, and as Shayne House, co-founder of the Tea Appreciation Society says, ‘it forces you to take time out.’ Couldn’t agree more, Shayne.

We especially like this brand of tea because it ticks all the boxes for us as an ethical product. It’s produced down the road from us, it’s fairly traded, not to mention mouth wateringly delicious.

Bear in mind that when you buy loose leaves, you get more of a benefit than with teabags. The whole leaves naturally hold more oils, which result in more flavour and goodness. Teabags contain ‘tea dust’ – a lower grade version of tea.

There are so many benefits of tea, and there’s a different type for every occasion. Next time you next stick your kettle on, use this handy guide to tea and choose a brew to pick the one that suits your mood.

Fennel

Refreshing fennel has a sweet anise taste and is delicious both hot and cold. In India, the seeds are chewed after a meal to freshen the breath and soothe the digestive tract. Being especially high in soothing oils, it’s ideal after a large meal. Those lovely oils also give this tea a fuller flavour. Add a teaspoon of this loose leaf fennel tea to the pan after you’ve cooked fish, a glug of white wine and a little cream and you’ll have a delicious sauce.

Nettle

Ask a medical herbalist which tea they would take if they were to be stranded on a desert island (of course there would be a kettle and a mug there) and many would go straight for nettle. Considered the healthiest tea of all, nettle is full of nutrients including vitamin C, zinc, iron and silica. Aside from being an all-round blood tonic, its excellent anti-histamine properties make it ideal for hay-fever sufferers.

Chamomile

This plant has a long traditional use for soothing nerves and calming the mind. It is often taken as an infusion to alleviate anxiety and to encourage a better quality sleep. As it contains anti-inflammatory properties, try ringing your flannel out in a chamomile infusion and leaving it on your face for a while. It’s perfect for pepping up skin and relieving tired eyes.

Echinacea

This wonderful plant has been used for decades for keeping colds and flu at bay. North American Indians first used it for modulating the immune system, which means that when your body is under attack and needs extra defences, your immune system steps up a gear. It’s also widely used for wound-healing, so try sipping – and even gargling – echinacea tea if you have mouth ulcers.

Manuka

This tea comes from the only commercially grown manuka bushes outside of New Zealand. These bushes are celebrated for their antibacterial properties used both internally and externally and are even used by nurses to dress wounds. The honey made from the manuka bush is often used in cough remedies, for being naturally antiseptic, yet lubricating. Brew yourself a cup of manuka tea next time you need to soothe a sore throat.

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Food, Health, Shop

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chamomile, echinacea, fennel, Health, herbal tea, manuka, nettle, tea

Granola flapjack recipe

This recipe, from the Eden chefs, makes four to six portions of this moist granola flapjack. It’s great for a healthy snack or breakfast treat.

Ingredients

• 100g brown sugar
• 120g butter
• 300g oats
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 1.5 bananas
• 60g dates, chopped
• 60g apricots, chopped
• 60g pumpkin seeds
• 60g sunflower seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4.
2. In a pan, melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together.
3. In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients, then add the wet ingredients from the pan.
4. Crush a banana with a fork and add it to the bowl.
5. Spoon the mixture on to a baking tray and bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Let it cool in the tray and then cut into portions.

If you’re keen to try our chef’s granola flapjacks, why not treat yourself at the Eden Bakery? Take a peek at the delicious food we serve at Eden

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• Food

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Bakery, Food

How to sprout seeds

Eat your sprouts! No, not brussels sprouts, we’re talking about the sprouting seeds that you can grow in your own kitchen – a delicious way of meeting all those New Year’s resolution of trimming up.

What’s so good about sprouts?

They’re nutritious
Weight for weight, they contain more nutrients than any other natural food known to man – even rivalling some food supplements. Because you eat them freshly harvested, none of these are lost in transit.

They’re a good source of protein
These tasty little things are especially useful if you’re a vegan or vegetarian. And because protein makes you feel fuller for longer, they’re ideal for dieters too.

They taste great
Even if you’re a committed meat-eater, sprouts can still add a special twist to your meal. Try topping a burger with alfalfa sprouts, or making a traditional egg and cress sandwich. Other great ways to eat sprouts are to stuff them in sandwiches, pitta breads and wraps, funk up a salad, or add a nutty taste to stir-fry and rice. If you fancy a healthy start to the morning, you can’t get better than a smoothie with parsley, apple, celery and alfalfa sprouts.

What can you sprout?
Most seeds, legumes and grains sprout easily, and even nuts will sprout with a little patience. Popular seeds to sprout are radish, broccoli and cress. However, I think the most fool-proof and delicious seed to sprout is the alfalfa.

Here’s how to grow your very own mini organic garden in your kitchen:

1. Rinse two tablespoons of your seeds in a clean jam jar – any size will do.

2. Soak them overnight in a little water – no need to refrigerate. Larger seeds and nuts may need a day for better results.

3. Drain the water (which is full of nutrients and perfect for your houseplants) and give the seeds a good rinse again.

4. Now you’re ready to put them back on your kitchen top and let nature take its course.

5. Give them a rinse twice daily just to prevent them from drying out.

6. After five days or so they’ll be perfect for you to eat straight out of them jam jar, or maybe stored in the fridge – they’ll keep crisp for up to a week.

Sprout your way into a healthy 2012.

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diet, fitness, salad, seeds, Sprouted seeds, sprouting, sprouts

Eden’s wildlife helpers: new video

Meet the unusual wildlife helpers that Eden’s gardeners have enlisted to keep plants healthy and reduce chemical use, in this new video. Warning, contains close-up scenes of insects engaging in bug warfare!

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Gardening, Horticulture, Sustainability

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gardens, Horticulture, Sustainability

Free tools for school and community gardens in Cornwall

Budding gardeners, young and old, are being given the chance to win sets of special tools. The trowels, forks, hoes and more have been recycled through Eden’s Tool Shed initiative, which gives inmates at prisons around the country the opportunity to learn new skills.

The project has been running since last spring, when we teamed up with HMP Dartmoor and The Conservation Foundation’s Tools Shed project to provide the first permanent garden tool recycling programme in Cornwall.

Old, broken and unwanted tools have been dropped off at the collection point at Eden and then transferred to HMP Dartmoor’s dedicated Tools Shed workshop, where prisoners have been able to learn a variety of new skills while refurbishing the donated items. As a result, they now have 20 sets of reconditioned tools, which will be given away to schools and community gardening groups in Cornwall.

Eden’s Karen Dawkins says: ‘We’ve had some rather weird and wonderful donations; some were so rusty they seemed beyond repair, but the men at HMP Dartmoor have worked hard to refurbish as many tools as possible to ensure the success of this great project.’

David Shreeve, creator of the Conservation Foundation, explains: ‘The project was designed to bring a new and positive approach to recycling. It’s a simple idea, but it has received a fantastic response from the public and has really involved prisoners and prison staff as well as making a difference to many schools and community groups.’

Tools Shed was piloted initially with HMP Wandsworth before being extended to other prisons. Currently tools are being repaired at Morton Hall in Lincolnshire, Bullingdon in Oxfordshire,Thorn Cross Young People’s Institution near Warrington, Feltham Young People’s Institution in London and High Down Prison in Surrey.

How to apply for free gardening tools
To receive a free set of these special tools, or to nominate a deserving school or group, email or write to Karen Dawkins: kdawkins@edenproject.com / Eden Project, Bodelva, Cornwall, PL24 2SG, before Friday 27 January 2012. Please include the name, address, and contact details of the organisation that would receive the tools and a short paragraph on where and how the tools would be used.

The first 20 winners to be selected will be notified by 3 February and invited to collect their tools from Eden between midday and 2pm on Friday 10 February.

How to recycle your old gardening tools
To donate any old, broken or unwanted garden hand tools, drop them off at the Tools Shed collection point, which is situated at the Tyre Shelter on the perimeter road opposite the Eden Project Waste Recycling Centre.

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Community, Horticulture, Recycling and waste, Sustainability

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Community, recycling, skills, Sustainability, waste

Join Stargazing Live at Eden astronomy event

Explore the night sky at a free evening of astronomy at Eden, as part of the BBC’s Stargazing Live series, on Tuesday 17 January 2012.

Visitors can find out about the stars of our galaxy by using a variety of professional telescopes, taking a virtual visit to distant corners of the universe in a portable planetarium, seeing live feeds from observatories around the world and handling and studying meteorites through microscopes.

There will also be a chance to see a big lights switch-off in the Biome and hear talks from experts on the night sky, life and death of stars, astronomical photography and much more.

For younger visitors there’ll be a range of activities including a workshop about the locations of the moon landings and astronomy-themed colouring-in.

We’re working with the Roseland Observatory and the University of Plymouth on the evening’s programme.

Stargazing Live, co-produced by the Open University, returns for a second three-night series on BBC Two to encourage everyone to learn more about the night sky. It will be broadcast on BBC Two over three nights – January 16 to 18 – and Eden is due to be part of the final two programmes.

Presenters Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain will broadcast live from the control room of the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, interacting live with the audience and calling on a starry collection of the country’s finest astronomical minds to explore the majestic wonders of the skies above Britain.

The pair will tackle some of the most intriguing questions in astronomy, such as ‘why does the moon cause the tides?’, ‘how do we know where black holes are when they are impossible to see?’ and ‘what will we actually say if we ever make contact with an alien race?’ There will also be hints and tips for getting started in stargazing and advice on navigating your way around the skies.

Get more details on the astronomy event at Eden and on the BBC’s Stargazing series.

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• Science

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Environment, Events, science

Eden Project’s 10 tips for gardeners in January

10 tips for gardeners in January from the Eden Project video

1. It’s time to prepare for growing in the year ahead: clean and sharpen your tools and, if necessary, replace tools.

2. Dust and scrub your pots, trays and labels.

3. Check you have enough of the seeds you intend to sow and that they are in date.

4. Sow sweet peas in long pots.

5. Keep on clearing winter debris from your beds and mulch them with leaf mould, bark or compost: watch out for emerging bulbs!

6. Provide food for the birds in your garden.

7. Prune autumn-fruiting raspberries to soil level.

8. Prune grape vines.

9. If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to eat more healthily, try simple sprouting seeds: quick, easy and delicious in salad.

10. Ensure house plants are regularly watered as central heating may dry them out faster than expected.

With thanks to Catherine Cutler

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Gardening, Horticulture, How to, Potting shed

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Gardening tips, growing, Horticulture

Inspirational community engagement case studies

If you’re looking to get a local project off the ground or need advice on neighbourhood planning and community engagement, take a look at our downloadable case studies full of ideas and inspiration.

We’ve put them together for anyone looking for refreshing and creative approaches to kickstart conversations about where they live and work, which go far beyond the usual stakeholder engagement techniques.

The case studies include stories such as:

• The seven Cornish towns that worked with playful theatre company Wildworks to animate open spaces and support regeneration.
• The communities on Cornwall’s Lizard Peninsula who asked the Eden Project to help them encourage outdoor play.
• The project that Eden worked on with the people of Kingsbridge, Devon, to create a design brief for a recreation ground.

They show how unusual techniques can get a broad range of people involved in putting forward their opinions, including:

• A festival approach, which can set the right ambience for sharing ideas
• Getting people to bring in artefacts and photographs to share memories about where they live
• Eliciting suggestions on an area using postcards pegged to a washing line or stuck on a map
• Video interviews where kids talk about their experiences of a particular place
• Creative sessions where people make objects that represent their views

You can get hold of the case studies on our creative community engagement case studies page. You might also like to explore our neighbourhood planning case studies from communities who are working together to draw up their own plans for where they live.

We produced the downloadable case studies as part of our work within the Building Communities Consortium neighbourhood planning project.

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Community, Cornwall, neighbourhood, planning

Free entry for under-18s to our youth talent showcase

It’s coming up to one of our favourite events of the year – Bright Young Things, where talented teenagers from the South West come to Eden to perform music, dance and more.

Come along on Saturday 28 January 2012 to see them strut their stuff and give them support. As well as live dance and music performances, there’ll be creative writing readings, film screenings and an exhibition of the best photography and art from the Bright Young Things competition.

What’s more, under-18s can come into for free on the day to watch! If you’re interested in volunteering, or if you have any questions about the event, please email us at the Eden Project on brightyoungthings@edenproject.com or call us on 01726 811913.

Here’s a video of a previous Bright Young Things event to whet your appetite.

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Art, Music

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Art, Fun, kids, Music