Tuesday March 31st
We departed Cambridge at 0730 on a coach and began our long journey to the western edge of England. On our way, we stopped in Woking. Woking is located in the west of Surrey, England. Woking is the town in which the Martians first land in H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. However, we stopped to visit because Woking Council is one of country's leaders in adopting greener energy technologies. Several combined heat and power stations provide district heating and electricity, and electricity is also provided by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells dispersed throughout the borough. These are linked via an innovative private electricity distribution system operating completely off the public power grid. We actually got to go inside their Combined Heat and Power plant!
After, we continued on our journey and arrived in Newquay, Cornwall (a popular destination for surfers) around 1830. While on the bus, we watch a video about the Eden Project (our destination for the next day). After dinner, we had a briefing about tomorrow's visit and were split into groups. My group was in charge of focusing on waste while at the Eden Project.
Wednesday April 1st
At 0930, we arrived at the Eden Project. It was a beautiful day! We had until 1300 to walk around on our own. From 1300-1700, we met with a member of Eden's staff and got a behind the scenes tour of the project's inner workings and were able to ask lots of questions. It was amazing! My favorite part of the trip. I kept thinking how much I wish my dad was there to see it because I know he would have really enjoyed it. The Eden Project houses the world's largest greenhouse. The complex comprises a number of domes that house plant species from around the world, each dome emulating a natural biome. The domes are made out of hundreds of hexagons plus a few pentagons that connect the whole construction; each of these is a transparent cushion made of tough plastic. The first dome emulates a tropical environment, the second a warm temperate, Mediterranean environment.
The Eden Project was designed and conceived to be a living theatre of plants and people. It was built in an old clay pit to show how degraded environments can be fixed. Then colonized with plants to show we're all part of nature not apart from it. The site is about bringing people together to show what can be achieved when people put their minds to something and work collectively. The exhibits are designed to give a glimpse of our world: our connection with nature, the plants we rely on, the places they come from, the impacts people have, the challenges people face, and the ideas and solutions people come up with. The site is also covered in lots of amazing artwork and sculptures.
The rainforest biome is the world's largest conservatory and contains steamy rainforests of Malaysia, West Africa, and South America. The Biome's message and displays are about trade and connections.
The Mediterranean biome contains the sights and scents of the Mediterranean, South Africa, and California where plants thrive on drought and poor thin soils. The biome was also home to bulb mania! We arrived at the time of year when all the flowers are blooming - breathtaking.
The outdoor biome was home to crops that grow in Cornwall's local climate. The Core is the site's educational building and contains one of my favorite sites of the whole day. You can actually use the world's largest nutcracker to crack a nut. The displays message is how we over-engineer a lot of the products in today's world, which leads to a lot of waste. It took me about three-four minutes of spinning a wheel to get this enormous machine to actually crack one little tiny nut.
That night, each group presented their findings on their paticular topic, so my group presented our suggestions on how waste at the Eden Project could be dealt with better. However, the project already does a great job. Recycling is offered everywhere and they use rainwater to flush all of the toilets and have a bio-digester for waste.
Thursday 2nd April
We visited Imerys China Clay Pits. We learned about their Heathland Restoration Project and Eco-town Project.
Friday 3rd April
We were suppose to visit Bears Down Wind Farm before heading back to Camridge, but our tour got canceled at the last minute. There was an accident on the main road on our way back, so it took us 10 hours to get back! It was ok though. We played Mafia (also called "The City Sleeps" in Cyprus and "Werewolf" in France) on the bus to make the time go faster.
No comments:
Post a Comment