From Friday 5 June to Monday 8 June, educational charity the Eden Project will host a series of hands-on volunteering opportunities as part of The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out, with participants invited to swap entry fees for fun and interactive nature based volunteering activities at the iconic global garden in Cornwall.
As part of the national initiative to encourage people to make a difference in their communities, the weekend will see the launch of the first-ever Eden Project Big Flower Count.
The new citizen science initiative invites supporters to photograph flowers blooming in Eden’s outdoor gardens to help build a long-term date and season sensitive picture tracking how climate change and weather patterns may be affecting flowering times each year. It is inspired by David Attenborough and E.O. Wilson’s concept, that by noticing and recording the life around us, we can all play a part in protecting it.
Anyone and everyone is welcome to pre-book the family-friendly volunteering sessions designed to be welcoming and easy to try. Activities will include pollinator tracking, planting with Eden’s horticulture team, pot making and sunflower seed planting, bug house building and kindness card making.
To celebrate the difference they make, volunteers will also be invited to join in with a special Big Lunch moment with a Cornish pasty, taking place each day to bring together visitors, volunteers and staff to share friendship, food and fun and get to know one another better.
Volunteering opportunities are open to everyone, but places are limited each day, so booking in advance is essential. Activities are suitable for all ages, with the exception of Friday 5 June, which is only open to those aged 16 and over. To reserve a place, book in advance via: www.edenproject.com/taster
The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out are teaming up for the first time this year to create a UK-wide weekend of friendship, food, fun and action that encourages people to connect with their communities and lend a hand locally. Led by the Eden Project, the initiative invites everyone to take part in ways big or small, from neighborhood gatherings to volunteering activities and environmental action.
Lindsey Brummitt, Programme Director at the Eden Project said:
“With millions of people expected to come together across the UK to share food, lend a hand and support their communities, we wanted to do something special at Eden Project too.
That’s why we’re opening up opportunities for people to get involved over the weekend, including volunteering activities and the launch of our first ever Flower Count.
Volunteering has a real and positive impact – both for the charities and community organisations working with volunteers, and for the people taking part, whether that’s spending time outdoors, meeting new people or trying something new.
We’re looking forward to welcoming people to Eden where they can lend a hand and try something new, make new connections and enjoy a pasty together – and hopefully leave feeling inspired to carry on making a difference locally.”
The Eden Project Big Flower Count aims to create a valuable long-term record of what is flowering across the Eden Project’s outdoor spaces each year. Over time, the collected images and observations will help the charity track how seasonal changes, weather patterns, and climate change may affect plants across its gardens.
Julie Kendall, Outdoor Horticultural Manager at the Eden Project said:
“As Eden celebrates its 25th anniversary, the launch of our first Big Flower Count is a chance to start building a long-term picture of how our gardens may change over the next 25 years.
“We’ve already noticed some unusual flowering patterns, including our South African daisy, Osteospermum, blooming in April when we would normally expect to see it flower in June. At the moment we can talk about these changes anecdotally, but this project will help us begin creating a valuable record over time.”
Eden currently has around 80 active volunteers supporting a wide variety of roles across the charity’s Cornwall site from horticulture and customer-facing positions to buggy driving, work in the Vounder Garden, helping with Little Eden pre-school groups and supporting the Eden Sessions.
The Big Lunch and Big Help Out activity at Eden is designed to give people an easy and enjoyable way to experience volunteering. The charity hopes the experience may inspire people to continue volunteering in ways big or small, either at the Eden Project or elsewhere in their communities.
