I was in Cornwall from last Thurs to Sat, working with my client, Chris Levine, www.chrislevine.com, and the creative forces behind one of the UK’s top attractions, the Eden Project (www.edenproject.com).
The focus was on an exciting new idea to bring Eden’s message to the masses. (Bear with me, the inspiration is coming) Here’s some stats on the business:
– The idea was conceived by Tim Smit
– It took approx. £150 million to get it off the ground
– The build was 2 and a half years and involved transforming a derelict china clay pit.
– It is home to the largest greenhouse in the world – Eden now employs about 450 people, rising to 650 in the summer time
– It has brought over a £1billion into the cornish ecomony I have seen nothing like it anywhere else and would encourage you to go at some point
– it’s basically like a theme park with nature at it’s core.
Their goal at Eden is to enhance the public’s understanding of the inter-relatedness between nature and human beings using a very innovative approach to education.
I was lucky enough to spend a good chunk of Friday with the founder Tim Smit, and Eden’s creative director, Peter Hampel. The reason I’m referring to this today is because of something Tim Smit said to me when I asked him to summarise what Eden stands for in 1 sentence.
After initially resisting, he gave an answer that I genuinely could not have predicted. He didn’t mention nature once or the environment, which on the face of it is what Eden seems to be all about.
This is what he said… “Eden stands as a symbol to inspire anyone to believe, that no matter what situation they find themselves in, they can improve it.” To Tim Smit, Eden is 2 fingers to those who say you can’t do that – that’s impossible.
Imagine if every business had this at it’s core… He went on to tell me that even though he’s not a fan of mission statements, he had recently been convinced by Peter Hampel to create one.
This is it… “To create your own Eden wherever you are” You could interpret this as creating your own ‘impossible’ dream. Most definitely food for thought…
Have a great week,
Best Regards,
Shane ps – If you’d like to read more about Eden, you can do so here
http://www.chrislevine.com/wd/?page_id=18