The Eden Project, one of the world’s most powerful examples of regeneration, has published a landmark Impact Report revealing that the educational charitable trust has delivered £6.8 billion in total economic impact to the South West and £5.7 billion net additional economic impact to Cornwall since opening in 2001.
Released on St Piran’s Day, the national day of Cornwall, ahead of Eden’s 25th birthday on 17th March 2026, the report celebrates the success of the charity which reconnects people with nature to inspire wonder, hope and positive action for the planet. Significantly, the report underlines how culture- and nature-led regeneration can function as long-term economic infrastructure and provides a flavour of the transformative ‘Eden Effect’ in the pipeline for other regions of the UK with Eden Project Morecambe currently in development and Eden Project Scotland being designed.
In 25 years, the charity Eden Project has welcomed more than 25 million visitors to its iconic Rainforest and Mediterranean Biomes in Cornwall – 80% from outside the county – generating £8.4 billion in visitor spend and supporting an average of 700 jobs each year. More than one million people have engaged with Eden through its schools programme alone.
From a former clay mine with no soil or plants, Eden has become a world-leading environmental showcase and a global symbol of renewal. It was co-founded by Sir Tim Smit and architect Jonathan Ball as an educational charity with a mission that extends far beyond horticulture: to reconnect people with nature through education, regeneration and storytelling.
With the Impact Report positioning the Eden Project as one of the UK’s most valuable economic growth assets, Andy Jasper, CEO of the Eden Project, delivered the report to Westminster to demonstrate the value of nature-based investment.
Jasper said: “The Eden Project unearths the wonder of the natural world and enriches life through positive action for the planet. This Impact Report is proof of the difference it makes and demonstrates that investing in nature, culture and education is not a luxury – it is a blueprint for economic growth.
“A quarter of a century since opening with a bold mission and hope for the future, Eden has helped reshape Cornwall’s economy, drawing millions of visitors, supporting hundreds of jobs and creating opportunities that simply did not exist twenty-five years ago.
“The lesson is clear: long-term investment in people and place works. If we are serious about sustainable growth, we must be equally serious about backing ambitious regeneration. Just as any successful garden requires seeds, structure, time and sustained care, so too does our economy. Long-term investment by Westminster in people, place and nature-based regeneration is essential to unlocking Britain’s full potential.”
This is exactly the type of regeneration the Millennium Commission believed was possible when it helped bring the Eden Project to life with £56 million in National Lottery funding. Twenty-five years on, Eden stands as one of the Commission’s most successful legacy projects.
Baroness Floella Benjamin, OM DBE, who served on the Millennium Commission, said:
“I was privileged to be a committee member of the Millennium Commission as we funded national projects that would last the test of time. One of those was the Eden Project, as the visionary Tim Smit convinced us of the value it would preserve for future generations. He was right as 25 years later the Eden Project has turned out to be one of the most successful projects we funded.
“Its lasting legacy keeps on proving that it was National Lottery players money well spent as it has continued to inspire, educate and involve those globally who want to make a difference, protect our fractured world and change it for the better.”
Beyond Cornwall, Eden’s impact spans community connection, education and climate innovation across the UK:
Since 2009, The Big Lunch – launched by the Eden Project to bring communities together with food – has inspired over 1.5 million events, connecting 120 million people and boosting social connection, belonging and local pride.
The Eden Project is home to the UK’s first new operational deep geothermal power plant since 1986. Its 5km-deep well heats the Biomes and onsite buildings, cutting gas use to almost zero and saving up to 500 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
Collectively reaching roughly 1 million through education, more than 750,000 children and young people have visited Eden for school and college trips – over 30,000 annually. Eden now delivers nearly 40 curriculum-linked workshops, from preschool to postgraduate level, alongside an online learning programme reaching tens of thousands nationwide.
Eden Project Nursery and Sky Primary provide nature-based, enquiry-led education rooted in sustainability and global citizenship. In partnership with leading universities, Eden also supports around 200 undergraduate and postgraduate students studying sustainability-focused degrees.
Since 2005, more than 1,000 people each year have strengthened their relationship with nature through Eden’s Nature Connections programmes, spanning therapeutic horticulture, walking groups, workshops and social prescribing partnerships with GPs.
The 'Eden Effect' is also having an impact around the world. In Costa Rica, Eden is restoring a dry tropical rainforest biological corridor, expanding habitats for wildlife while empowering local communities to play a central role in its recovery. There are also Eden Project sites in Expo City, Dubai and Qingdao, China.
Designs for Eden Project Morecambe feature two shell-shaped domes - Realm of the Sun and Realm of the Moon - with gardens inspired by the coast. The first phase of the development is a 1.5-acre Bring Me Sunshine community space, inspired by the landscapes and culture of Morecambe Bay. It will be permanently relocated to the site following an exhibition at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Reflecting on the origins of where the Eden Project began, Sir Tim Smit said: “Every child in the world dreams of building giant dams, fantastical castles and underground kingdoms. We humans are imaginative apes. Eden is a simple idea. In the crater of a long dead volcano we found Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World. In our case, a fantastic confection of plants, theatre and science fiction design. Our thought was that by Kissing the Great Frog of darkness, it would turn into an Eden princess and we’d live happily ever after.
“This act of passion by so many people has attracted more than 25 million visitors so far and inspired Eden offspring in various parts of the world.
“Eden is not the starry-eyed creation of visionaries. On the contrary, a group of ordinary people dared to dream yet organised to deliver to show everyone that we are not naïve, but realistic - it is revolutionary. Demonstrating that education is not passive – it is catalytic and that when you dream at scale, communities, economies and ecosystems can rise together.
“As we celebrate our 25th birthday, drink a toast with us to the defeat of the doom mongers and dream stealers. Because the future remains ours to make.”
Jasper added: “We are proud of what has achieved and excited about what is next. The best is yet to come. Morecambe Bay, Dundee; expanding Eden’s proven model of place-based regeneration across the UK and internationally, while accelerating our mission to become climate-positive by 2030. But we don’t want to do alone; our nature, our economy and our communities don’t want us to do it alone.
“The world needs more of that radical thinking that Sir Tim pioneered twenty-five years ago - and the confidence to invest in it from Westminster.”
