This demi-paradise
From Dr John Akeroyd Sir: Tom Palmer (Hothouse of hate'. 22 February) is too hard on the Eden Project. If some facts and figures presented there are a tad distorted or erroneous, any such lack of attention to detail merely reflects an all-pervasive political correctness endemic at the heart of the conservation and education establishments. I fear Mr Palmer does not really like plants, for it is unfair of him to denigrate what he calls a 'poorly arranged botanical garden' when the planting is so new. All visitors to Eden that I have spoken to were bowled over.
The mission of the Eden boss Tim Smit, backed by an able and enthusiastic team, is to inform the public about plants and their many vital uses in the service of people (what drily used to be called 'economic botany'). Smit's genius is to present botany as rock'n'roll, thereby capturing the public imagination — something we botanists have dismally failed to do.
John Akeroyd
West Tisbury, Wiltshire
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