Green expert Dick Strawbridge signs up to support the Edge

Green-living guru Dick Strawbridge has given his backing to the Edge, the next great phase of the Eden Project.

The Edge is one of four projects competing in the Big Lottery Fund’s: the People’s £50 Million Contest. It will be a visionary new building meeting the challenges of climate change. Its scale and ambition will make it an international icon of sustainability.

The winning project will be decided by a public vote. Internet voting is now open at www.edenproject.com/vote and phone voting is due to take place between December 7 and 10.

Dick said: “Eden certainly gets my vote. It is pushing out the boundaries yet again with the Edge. I know what an amazing effect Eden has had on Cornwall and the south west because I live nearby.

“I also know that its reach in science, education and sustainability goes well beyond here. The project is well named because Eden is on the cutting edge when it comes to engaging everyone in the great issues of the age.

“I’ve great respect for what Tim Smit and the team do and I will lend my support in any way to this cracking project. So get off your rear-ends and vote for the Edge!”

Dick is the unmistakable face of the BBC2 documentary series It’s Not Easy Being Green. The first series followed his family as they relocated to Cornwall and attempted to live as sustainably as possible. The second series showed their attempts to help other people do the same.

Amongst numerous other television appearances, Dick presented the popular BBC2 programme Crafty Tricks of War and an episode of the BBC’s acclaimed Coast series. Dick shot to fame after he and his brothers won a series of Channel 4’s Scrapheap Challenge.

Dick is the latest addition to Eden’s growing list of supporters which takes in organisations such as the UN, Oxfam and Christian Aid and celebrities such as England rugby captain Phil Vickery, television presenter Alan Titchmarsh and survival expert Ray Mears.

The Edge represents the next great phase at Eden. It will be a testament to one-planet living, built to the lowest possible carbon footprint and designed to last. Inside there will be amazing desert, oasis and water gardens on a scale never attempted undercover.

The building will be a model of cutting-edge architecture and technology, harvesting water and energy from the sun, wind, and rain to show how we all might live in the future.