Eden Project Morecambe will install a major immersive centrepiece called The Elder Tree, following a £4.5 million donation from charity lottery company Omaze.
The 20-metre exhibit will sit at the centre of the planned coastal attraction and has been described as one of the most important features of the project. Eden Project Morecambe is scheduled to open in winter 2028, with early public garden works due to begin this summer.
The wider development will include a couple of shell-shaped domes, landscaped gardens inspired by the coast and interpretation focused on Morecambe Bay’s natural character, ecology and heritage.
A Major Interpretive Centrepiece
The Elder Tree will be designed as an immersive exhibit that guides visitors from its roots through to trunk hollows, using the structure to explore past ecosystems and humanity’s relationship with nature.
For attraction designers, cultural planners and environmental interpretation specialists, the project shows how a single sculptural feature can act as both a landmark and a narrative framework. Rather than functioning as a decorative object, The Elder Tree is expected to carry a central storytelling role within the visitor experience.
Its scale also suggests a strong spatial function. At 20 metres high, the installation will help organise movement, orientation and emotional impact within the attraction. Large interpretive features of this kind can support wayfinding, provide a memorable visual identity and give visitors a clear focal point around which the wider experience is arranged.
Funding Supports Long-Term Visitor Experience Planning
The £4.5 million donation from Omaze has been allocated specifically to The Elder Tree. For the visitor attraction sector, this demonstrates the importance of targeted philanthropic and charitable funding in delivering ambitious interpretive elements within large-scale cultural and environmental projects.
Eden Project CEO Andy Jasper has positioned the exhibit as a way to communicate changing relationships with the natural world and encourage positive thinking about restoration. This places the installation within a growing area of experience design where environmental messaging is delivered through emotional, sensory and spatial techniques.
For operators and funders, the announcement also highlights how major capital features can support audience communication, brand identity and destination positioning before a site opens.
Community Gardens To Open First
Groundworks are due to begin this summer on 1.5 acres of community gardens, which will be free to enter. These gardens are expected to open in spring 2027, ahead of the full attraction in winter 2028.
This phased approach gives the project an important early presence in the local area. For destination developers, opening community assets before the main attraction can support local engagement, test operational models and build public familiarity with the site.
The gardens will also help establish the project’s ecological focus before the larger paid experience opens. This is particularly relevant for developments that need to balance tourism growth with local benefit and public access.
Partnership Delivery For A Coastal Destination
Eden Project Morecambe is being delivered in partnership with Lancaster City Council, Lancashire County Council and Lancaster University, with support from UK government investment.
The project’s focus on Morecambe Bay’s ecology, heritage and coastal setting gives it a clear place-based identity. For the wider sector, it offers a case study in how environmental attractions can connect education, regeneration, tourism and civic partnership.
The Elder Tree adds a defined creative centrepiece to that vision, giving Eden Project Morecambe a major interpretive asset as it moves towards its phased opening.
