Eden Project Anglesea, Australia

Since you last heard from me, the Eden Project has been through perhaps the most significant and exciting period in our history.

In June, we were privileged to welcome the G7 world leaders and five members of the royal family to Eden as part of their Cornish summit – an event that saw us grab global headlines as some of the most recognisable faces in the world toured our Biomes.

Then in October we set up the Eden Project Pavilion at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, telling the Eden story to delegates from around the world, making new friends along the way and using the Pavilion as a backdrop for the announcement of our first South American Eden in Colombia.

These two major events bookended a period that saw us open the first Eden-curated content outside Cornwall in Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and saw the construction of our project in Qingdao in China reach a major milestone as the main arch of its Storm Forest Biome was completed. Our project in Morecambe in the north of England continues apace with the submission of a planning application.

Many of us have been eagerly waiting for the results of the pump test in the former mine at Anglesea… none more so than the team at Eden. While we await the final results, the early signs are looking positive. In the meantime, we value our continued engagement with the local community, Alcoa and Invest Victoria to assist in progressing the Eden Project in Anglesea during 2022.

Thank you to all our Australian friends for your continued support during 2021. We wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and sincere commiserations on your impending defeat in the Ashes!

Greetings to all our friends in Australia!

I write this update feeling enthused about the possibilities the coming months will bring. Over here in the UK, we are making tentative but hopefully permanent steps out of our third lockdown, our Eden Project in Cornwall is preparing to re-open next month and the warm spring weather offers us a tantalising glimpse of what summer might bring.

Enthusiasm continues to be an abiding theme for our work in Anglesea and, while our frustration at not being able to visit in person must continue for a little longer, work has continued apace and we have been collaborating remotely but closely (only in strange times like these could such an oxymoron make sense) with our Alcoa partners to keep the project moving behind the scenes. The beginning of the pumping test, which has already been approved, is imminent and will go a long way towards resolving the issue of how best to fill the mine void with water.

Water is of course an incredibly important feature of the Eden Project Anglesea plans and, while we know that the delays in resolving this issue will have frustrated some of our supporters, we would ask for just a little more patience. It will be worth the wait! After all, a project broadly themed around the extremes of the elements wouldn’t be complete without a stunning water centrepiece.

We are grateful as ever to our friends at Alcoa for their continued commitment to this project and to all the project’s supporters in the community, government and business. We were delighted that the Governor of Victoria, the Hon. Linda Dessau AC, and her husband Mr Anthony Howard AM QC paid the site a visit recently – we hope you enjoyed your time there, Governor, and we look forward to welcoming you in person next time!

Hello dear friends in Victoria,

As I look back to the start of 2020, I realise that my last pre-lockdown trip was to your beautiful country… and I confess that I am rather missing both Australia and all of you. At our home in Cornwall, we have had a tough time, but come through the pandemic with new on site social distancing measures in place and a number of operational changes that are here to say. As I write this, we are in the midst of our October half term holidays with new Halloweden trails (see our website at www.edenproject.com to experience them virtually), with the ice rink back (who would have thought that?) and the Cornish site operating at its capacity, as everybody takes advantage of the opportunity to travel within the UK.

Further afield, we have had a rather remarkable 2020 with projects starting, pausing, re-starting and then many governments becoming excited at the possibilities of a real green recovery. It is rather easy for governments to publish new slogans like “building back better” or “the green recovery” … however, our experience across the world is that governments are deadly serious about coming out of the pandemic stronger. Eden Projects… and particularly Eden Project Australia in Anglesea… offer a real chance to genuinely create an exemplar in sustainable operations and in the case of Anglesea to show the world that former Australian mine sites can have new life breathed into them and the region around them.

We remain as committed as we were at the start of 2020, and while the project has naturally been delayed, we have taken great hope from the government’s warm words and support, Cape Otway Road Australia’s (CORA) regional success and our partner Alcoa’s patience. We know that 2021 will allow us to demonstrate once and for all that… the future still remains ours to make.

See you soon.

The world has changed in ways no one could have predicted when Eden Project Anglesea was announced in May 2019.

At the time we shared a vision of a place of extraordinary experiences, fusing science and wonder to immerse visitors in the extremes of the elements – earth, air, water, fire – and in so doing, creating a must-see prelude to a journey on the Great Ocean Road and demonstrating the extraordinary natural world that we are a part of.

While the pandemic hasn’t changed our confidence in realising this vision, it has obviously affected everyone’s lives in profound ways.

Many of the positive impacts of lockdowns - a greater connection to nature on your doorstep, hearing the birds singing, seeing the nature flourish and stronger communities - are the kind of things Eden has been talking about for years.

We get the distinct impression that no one wants to go back to “normal” as we knew it and Eden is wellplaced to be part to be part of a positive change.

So where are we at? Resolving the mine’s water strategy is our current focus. We all want a solution that works for the community and the environment, and that drives new opportunities for people and communities as well. Healthy and thriving lands equate to healthy and happy people! We are supportive of Alcoa’s application to Southern Rural Water and we are hoping for a resolution soon.

Our team are ready, we know that we have widespread support, willing partners locally, regionally and nationally and moreover, we think that this project is significant for Australia and will be an exemplar of how we should be looking after our home.

It is a genuine sadness not to be able to get out to see you all in person, however, those times will return. Until then…

UK lockdown measures, which had meant nonessential workers staying at home with only an hour of outdoor exercise per day allowed, are now beginning to lift. We recently reopened the outdoor gardens at Eden in Cornwall and we hope to be able to reopen our Biomes very soon.

As people emerge from their time in isolation, we sense a desire to leave behind what we used to consider “normal”. Many people have used this time to reconnect with their families and to discover the natural riches on their doorstep.

Spending more time in nature is good for us both physically and psychologically - a wider understanding of humanity’s place in the natural world has been at the heart of the Eden message since the very beginning. It is important that we don’t lose this momentum and slip lazily back into the old way of doing things.

So we find ourselves at a crucial moment and history will judge us on the direction we choose to take. A global network of Eden Projects – of which Anglesea would be a crucial pillar – will be an important voice in the efforts to make the world a better place.

Despite the lockdown, we have continued to work hard on Eden Project Anglesea and we are hoping for a resolution on the water body soon. We are missing our friends and colleagues in Anglesea and we are looking forward to being able to visit again soon.

Well, who could have imagined how the world has changed since we last met in Anglesea back in February? It’s a certain irony how a near-invisible virus can have demonstrated quite both how interconnected we all are across borders and how the natural world has a habit of biting us all when we least expect it. As you’d expect, the Eden team are all in isolation and either furloughed or working from home here in the UK. However, that doesn’t mean nothing is happening.

We remain totally committed to Eden Project Anglesea and our focus has been to ensure that this period maximises any preparatory works and actions that can happen in these restricted times.

Most important is that we ensure that the water solution for how the mine void fills is resolved in this period. This requires multi-agency working and Invest Victoria are at the forefront of ensuring that this happens, such that we can bring the project to fruition. If we don’t use this next six-month period effectively to identify the water solutions together with government and the community, then it really will have been a wasted period.

Understandably, all governments around the world remain somewhat pre-occupied. That being said, we know that we will get through this crisis eventually. As such, discussions continue with Invest Victoria (on behalf of the Victorian Government) who remain supportive of the project. It is clear that investments will be required after the crisis has passed to ensure that economies can be rebooted. We need to ensure that we are ready for that and most importantly, that we create a project that demonstrates and supports clean growth, sustainability and whatever brave new world that awaits all of us.

Here at the Eden Project we’re all still very excited about the potential for the Anglesea project but we had hoped for the plans to be further advanced by now.

Discussions with Victorian government continue and all parties are committed to finding both the correct and most expedient solution for filling the mine void with water.

We all want a solution that works for the community and the environment, as well as the Eden Project.

As we have previously said, our preferred strategy is for filling the space with a combination of surface water and ground water, while understanding that there is a longer term potential for investigating recycled water.

We hope the positive dialogue with the government continues and we have been given assurances that an agreement will be reached in the next few months.

Once this issue is resolved, we are keen to move and address other matters that are important to the community and bring the project closer to reality.

We understand this process hasn’t been as quick as we would have hoped but have been gratified by the continued support and patience from the community in Anglesea and the surrounding area.

Thank you for standing by us and we hope to be able to bring you some exciting developments in the near future.

The Eden Project will provide environmental, social, educational and economic benefits for the community.

Set within the landscape of the Anglesea Heath, the proposed concept showcases a vision to transform an area within the former coal mine into a destination for immersive education and experiences which celebrate the local ecology and tell a story of sustainability.

Initial projections show a world class eco-tourism attraction of this type could support at least 300 full-time jobs.
The project will provide a focal point for people travelling along the Great Ocean Road, giving them the opportunity to stop for an extended period, including in the off-peak season, and not only experience Eden, but also other Anglesea activities like surfing, boating and hiking, as well as the area’s hospitality and accommodation.

Eden Cornwall has contributed more than £2bn to the local economy since 2001, and there is strong potential for figures relative to those in Anglesea.

Eden has a wealth of experience in environmental, social and economic regeneration and similarly to the Anglesea concept site, Eden’s home in Cornwall is situated within a former mine.

Eden first heard about the opportunity in Anglesea when several community members contacted Eden to suggest it investigate the former mine site for a new Eden Project.

Through all stages of analysis, planning, design and construction, the concept is estimated to cost approximately $150 million.

Eden will be seeking potential investors for the project and the typical infrastructure support for projects of this kind from Government.

The Eden Project Anglesea concept is set within a portion of the former mine site.

As outlined in the Alcoa Freehold Concept Master Plan, the former power station site will be a community focused precinct, complementing the proposed eco-tourism concept at the former mine site, with connections to the Anglesea township.

The precinct would include a range of facilities such as an elevated observation tower, orientation shelters, picnic spaces, play spaces, walking and cycling paths, recreation areas and activities, as well as tourism accommodation and retail uses. Visit www.alcoa.com.au/anglesea for more information. 

If the Eden Project Anglesea concept is realised, it would create an opportunity for Eden to provide input into the precinct.

It’s Eden’s goal to engage with as many people as possible in the consultation phase to energise and inspire the local community and key stakeholders to develop the ideas for what could be their own Eden Project in Anglesea.

We’d like to thank those who have participated so far and we encourage people to continue providing their feedback. It is important to note that we are still in the concept phase and most critical for us is understanding what the local community and key stakeholders want, need, and hope to achieve from the project.

Community input is vital to the creation of an Eden Project that both represents and benefits this beautiful part of the world. As such, our continuing ambition is to provide many diverse opportunities for community involvement and feedback.

So please keep talking to us, providing your feedback and we look forward to continuing the conversation.

Details on how to contact the Eden Project and Alcoa can be found below.