Earthpark is a proposed best-in-class educational facility with indoor rain forest and aquarium elements, and a mission of "inspiring generations to learn from the natural world." It was previously called the Environmental Project. Inspired by

The Eden Project The Eden Project () is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay clay pit, pit.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map 107 – Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel''. . The complex is dominated by two h ...

Cornwall, England Cornwall (; or ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the Engli ...

, Earthpark was aimed to be an educational ecosystem and a popular visitor attraction. The project remains dormant since 2008, though it was briefly re-visited in 2018.

History and Funding

Earthpark was to be located around Lake Red Rock, near the town of

Pella, Iowa Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States, with a population of 10,464 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Founded by immigrants from the Netherlands, it is forty miles southeast of Des Moines. Pella is the home of Central Colleg ...

. ''Press Citizen'', "Top 10 news stories of 2006", December 27, 2006, retrieved on December 29, 2006. Proposals from a variety of potential hosts, some outside of Iowa are being considered. Talks between Earthpark and the city of

Coralville, Iowa Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,318 at the 2020 census. History Coralville is the location of the Edgewa ...

, the original planned location of Earthpark, ended in 2006. The project then found a new home in

. but that did not become a reality. In December 2007, federal funding from the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

for the Pella location was rescinded, in a form of $50 million. In August 2008, when asked if any efforts would be made to get additional federal money for the project, U.S. Senator

Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2025, a role he also held from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...

said "Not by this senator, and I don't think there will be any by other senators." Same year, one of the prospective founders behind this project,

Ray Townsend Raymond Anthony Townsend (born December 20, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors and the Indiana Pacers. Townsend played c ...

's son, Ted, had pledged $32.9 million of his own money.

Size and scope

The total project cost for Earthpark was estimated to be $155 million, though over a third of that financial demand was met. The complex was planned to be in area with a 600,000 gallon aquarium and outdoor wetland and prairie exhibits. The Earthpark project was expected to employ 150 people directly and create an additional 2000 indirect jobs. The economic impact was estimated to be US$130 million annually. The park was projected to draw 1 million visitors annually to the Pella area. "Pella Lands the Earthpark", ''Town Crier News'', retrieved on December 29, 2006

References

External links

* * * * * {{cite news , title=Campaign Ad Calls Rainforest Wasteful Spending; Organizers Say Earthpark Will Bring In $130M Annually , url=http://www.kcci.com/news/10160032/detail.html , publisher=KCCI , date=October 25, 2006 , access-date=September 22, 2008 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061130093710/http://www.kcci.com/news/10160032/detail.html , archive-date=November 30, 2006 , url-status=dead Entertainment venues in Iowa Ecological experiments Environmental design