The World Land Trust Awarded a Gold Medal at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

To mark their 21^st Anniversary, and the International Year of Biodiversity, the World Land Trust set themselves the goal of bringing a tiny corner of rainforest to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. On Press Day yesterday, prior to the judging, Bill Oddie launched the exhibit explaining the urgent need to conserve the Atlantic Rainforest of South America – a biodiversity hot spot of which only 7% still remains.

When the World Land Trust arrived at the exhibit this morning it was to discover that they had not only been awarded a highly coveted Gold Medal for the exhibit, but also ‘Best in Section’.  John Burton, CEO of the World Land Trust says, “having just returned from a trip to the Atlantic Rainforest to show Bill Oddie the remaining forests for himself and what the WLT is doing to protect them, it was daunting to endeavour to recreate the real thing at Chelsea. But Bill was wonderfully enthused about our aim, and the team we had put together has created a first class exhibit.  As the future of the world’s tropical forests hang by a thread, what better time to bring alive the beauty of the Atlantic Rainforest to the thousands of visitors to the Chelsea Flower Show? We know they are passionate about all things green and we hope that we have added a new dimension to the Chelsea experience and that it will raise vital funds for our urgent work.”

The ‘Saving the Atlantic Rainforest’ exhibit, in the Continuous Learning Section, not only brings to life the beauty of the Atlantic Rainforest but the importance of protecting what is considered to be the most endangered rainforest in the world. The authentic creation features 48 Atlantic Rainforest plants growing in a compost made from London’s recycled sandwiches. The Ranger’s Hut and the Ranger’s garden highlights the importance of local people who are ultimately responsible for protecting the rainforest reserves being created.

The Ranger’s Hut also features a plasma screen which appears as a window. Impressively the conservation charity have established a live web cam in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil which allows Chelsea visitors to see some of the spectacular birds of the rainforest live from Brazil. To see the link please visit:

http://www.worldlandtrust.org/events/chelsea/wlt-exhibit.htm

For further information on the World Land Trust please contact:

Emma Beckett
t: 0207 637 2967 m:07984 462201  e: emma*AT*emmabeckettpr.com (To prevent spam we cannot show the email address in full. Please replace *AT* with @ in your email TO field.)

Chelsea image library: http://www.wildlifefocus.org/photos/?c=177&k=1a5d8bd86a

Full Press release: http://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2010/04/world-land-trust-saving-atlantic.htm

Garden design: http://www.worldlandtrust.org/documents/chelsea-flower-show-press-pack-140410.pdf (2.61MB) (opens in new window)