The Eden Project, a giant 22,000-square-metre complex of geodesic domes
bubbling up on the site of an old clay quarry in Cornwall, opened for business
this week. The “biomes” hold 75,000 tonnes of reclaimed soil made of sand from
the quarry mixed with compost, and are home to plants, insects and birds from
tropical and temperate climes. As well as tourism and education, the biomes will
support research projects. These include the conversion of landfill sites and
the preservation of endangered plants such as Impatiens gordonii, a species now
reduced to 250 plants in six small populations in…
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