Virtual Visit: Eden Project

Just over a week ago I spent a couple of hours at the Eden Project, so I thought I would show you some of the more unusual edible plants I came across while I was there.

Earth Day seems to be an auspicious day on which to being a new blog series. ‘The Hive’ is going to be a collection of positive news stories about the environment, with a solarpunk vibe – demonstrating that those of us who care about the environment are not alone, and that in fact there are legions of people around the world who are actively making a difference, and who share a positive vision of how the future could look, rather than the gloom and doom of a dystopia forced on us by a broken climate.

Welcome interplanetary gardeners! This week’s Gardeners off World starts with a little video Boeing has put together of the inside of the crew cabin on the recent Starliner test flight (the one that took tree seeds into space). You can see Rosie the instrumented mannequin, but the highlight is watching astronaut Snoopy float about as the spacecraft reaches orbit, and then plop back down into his seat during the descent!

As an ethnobotanist focusing on edible plants, I was powerless to resist when Tree Aid issued their tree food challenge to design a healthy, nutritious* winter dish using one or more of several tree foods. I chose:

As we’re all stuck at home for the moment, I thought it would be nice to take some virtual tours of lovely places. It might lift our spirits momentarily, and give you some ideas of new places to visit when we are free to wander once more.

I imagine the Apollo 11 astronauts had plenty to do while they were hurtling towards the Moon, but from a bystander’s perspective it was probably pretty dull stuff. Still, it’s Day 3 of the mission, so let’s have a look at what they’ve got stashed away in their space age picnic basket.

Thirty years ago, Helen Sharman blasted off on her Project Juno mission, becoming the first British astronaut and the first woman to visit the Mir space station. Join Emma the Space Gardener to discover how Helen was chosen for the mission, the plants she grew on Mir, and what happened to the pansy seeds she took into space.

The news for the past few weeks has been a little worrying (when is it not?), in the sense that although Brexit is only 7 months away, no one seems to have the foggiest what will happen when we leave the EU. All kinds of industries are predicting chaos. People in the government have said that the government is making plans to stockpile food, and the public don’t need to worry. However, with ‘just in time’ food supply lines that leave us nine meals away from anarchy, perhaps a little concern is in order. We’ve recently lived through a hummus shortage (due to production issues), a crumpet/fizzy drinks shortage (ditto) and salad shortages (weather issues), and that’s just the ones I (a) noticed and (b) can remember.

Last weekend, as the temperatures soared, I found a certain amount of solace in learning more about how plants are being grown in Antarctica – the coldest place on Earth. 

Most of the time, I feel like a misfit. Once I developed an interest in the environment, I stepped away from mainstream culture – the culture that’s constantly trying to sell us something, with businesses that don’t care who or what they destroy in their pursuit of profit. Even before that I was geeky, and I just seem to feel more different with every passing year. I love the internet, and its ability to bring likeminded people together; all of the gardeners I have encountered online have been lovely people, but because I focus on growing edibles in an organic, peat-free and wildlife-friendly way, I still don’t feel part of the mainstream.

In December 2015, as we were waiting for Tim Peake to launch to the ISS and start his Principia mission, I talked about Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space. In that blog post, I quoted David M. Harland, from his book The Mir Space Station: A Precursor to Space Colonization:

As we’re all stuck at home for the moment, I thought it would be nice to take some virtual tours of lovely places. It might lift our spirits momentarily, and give you some ideas of new places to visit when we are free to wander once more. Today I am sharing one of my favourite places – Butser Ancient Farm. Have you been? Let me know in the comments!