View source for Tim Smit

{{Short description|British businessman}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sir Tim Smit
| image = Tim Smit (6509919409).jpg
| image_caption = Smit in 2011
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KBE}}
| birth_name = Timothy Bartel Smit
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1954|09|25}}
| birth_place = [[Scheveningen]], The Hague, Netherlands
| occupation = Businessman
| alma_mater = [[Hatfield College, Durham]]
| known_for = [[Lost Gardens of Heligan]] and [[Eden Project, Cornwall|Eden Project]]
| citizenship = [[British nationality law|British]] and [[Dutch citizenship]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Candy Pinsent|1978|end=div}} {{marriage|Charlotte Russell|2024}}
| children = 4
}}

'''Sir Timothy Bartel Smit''' [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]] (born 25 September 1954)<ref>{{cite news| title = Birthdays| newspaper = The Guardian| pages = 43 | date = 25 September 2014 }}</ref> is a Dutch-born British businessman who jointly helped create the [[Lost Gardens of Heligan]], and the [[Eden Project, Cornwall|Eden Project]] in [[Cornwall]], United Kingdom.

==Early life==

Tim Smit was born in [[Scheveningen]], The Hague, the son of [[KLM|airline]] KLM chief executive Jan Smit<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4721870/Brave-new-worlds.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Brave new worlds|first=Adam|last=Nicolson|date=24 February 2001|access-date=17 April 2022}}{{subscription required}}</ref> and his English wife.  He was educated in England at [[Vinehall School]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/oct/27/teaching-awards-eden-project|work=The Guardian|title=Three men who changed me|first=Tim|last=Smit|date=27 October 2009|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref> [[East Sussex]], and [[Cranbrook School Kent|Cranbrook School]], Kent, before going on to study [[archaeology]] and [[anthropology]] at [[Hatfield College, Durham]].

==Career==

He worked as an archaeologist before working as both a songwriter and producer receiving seven [[Music recording certification|platinum and gold discs]].

In 1987, he moved with his family to Cornwall and became involved with [[Rob Poole]], John Nelson and [[The Lost Gardens of Heligan]]. Smit wrote a book about the project.

[[File:Sir Tim Smit, The Green Interview.webm|thumb|right|Tim Smit in conversation with [[Silver Donald Cameron]] about his work.]]

With architect [[Jonathan Ball (architect)|Jonathan Ball]], he jointly created the [[Eden Project, Cornwall|Eden Project]], near [[St Austell]], an £80 million initiative to build two transparent [[biome]]s in an old [[kaolinite|china clay]] pit near the village of [[Bodelva]].  The biomes contain different eco-climates; rainforest and Mediterranean. The outside area is also described as a biome and has areas such as "Wild Cornwall". Eden aims to educate people about environmental matters and encourages a greater understanding and empathy with these matters. Smit raised the funds and the site design was by [[Nicholas Grimshaw]]. Smit has claimed that The Eden Project has contributed over £1 billion into the Cornish economy.<ref name=personally>{{cite web|url=http://www.personallyspeakingbureau.com/speaker/tim-smit-kbe-sir|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054021/http://www.personallyspeakingbureau.com/speaker/tim-smit-kbe-sir|work=Personally Speaking Bureau|title=TIM SMIT KBE, SIR {{!}} Co-Founder of the Eden Project|archive-date=4 March 2016}}{{self-published inline|date=April 2022}}</ref>

Smit's book about the creation of the Eden Project, ''Eden'', was published in 2001 and updated on the 10th anniversary of the opening in March 2011.

Smit was appointed an honorary [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[2002 New Year Honours]] and awarded the Kilgerran Award of the [[Foundation for Science and Technology]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite journal |date=December 2003 |title=Re-creating the Garden of Eden |journal=FST Journal |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=6–7 |publisher=The Foundation for Science and Technology |location=London |issn=1475-1704 |url=http://www.foundation.org.uk/journal/pdf/fst_18_02.pdf |access-date=28 July 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foundation.org.uk/events/pdf/20031007_summary.pdf |access-date=28 July 2010 |title=Lord Lloyd of Kilgerran Award Lecture – Summary |date=7 October 2003 |author=Jeff Gill}}</ref> In 2006, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Design degree by the [[University of the West of England]] "in recognition of his outstanding achievements in promoting the understanding and practice of the responsible management of the vital relationship between plants, people and resources, which have made a major contribution regionally, nationally and internationally to sustainable development, tourism, architecture and landscape architecture".

Smit has been outspoken in his views on issues such as [[social enterprise]] and [[entrepreneurship]]. In a 2008 interview, he said:
<blockquote>
Britain is crap at being entrepreneurial because (a) it's a risk averse country, and (b) the stigma of failure is so high that if you fail you're considered to be a loser. Entrepreneurism is a word that has been stolen by people who don't understand it. The truth is that people who are entrepreneurial take risks, and risk is something that is un-British, and if you're successful with it they'll hate you for it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourbusinesschannel.com/show/ideas/158/business-television-show---celebrity-entrepreneurs-5-what-it-takes-to-succeed|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929233705/http://www.yourbusinesschannel.com/show/ideas/158/business-television-show---celebrity-entrepreneurs-5-what-it-takes-to-succeed|website=yourbusinesschannel.com|title=Business television show – Celebrity Entrepreneurs 5: What it takes to succeed|archive-date=29 September 2009}}</ref>
</blockquote>

In the early 21st century, Smit became a Social Enterprise Ambassador.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20100512144114/http://socialenterpriseambassadors.org.uk/ambassadors/ambassador-details?page_no=2|work=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]|title=Social Enterprise Ambassadors|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>

He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 2001, when he was surprised by [[Michael Aspel]] at the [[Eden Project, Cornwall|Eden Project]]. {{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Smit was appointed Honorary [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (KBE) in January 2011 in recognition of his services to public engagement with science.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-12238072|publisher=BBC News|title=Honorary knighthood for Eden Project boss|date=20 January 2011|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref> In May 2012, the award was made substantive when he became a British citizen, allowing Smit to use the title "Sir".<ref name=personally/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=60173|supp=y|page=32|date=16 June 2012}}</ref>

In November 2016, Smit was awarded an honorary Doctor of Education degree by [[Bournemouth University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www1.bournemouth.ac.uk/news/2016-11-09/faculty-management-celebrates-its-new-2016-graduates|publisher=[[Bournemouth University]]|title=Faculty of Management celebrates its new 2016 graduates|date=9 November 2016|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>

Smit is one of the backers of the Eden Westwood project, a joint project between the Eden Project and developers Westwood to build a 175-acre (71 hectares) leisure and tourism destination at Junction 27 of the [[M5 motorway|M5]] in Devon. The development was included in the Mid Devon Local Plan which was adopted in July 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/eden-westwood-surf-lake-m5-4328112|work=DevonLive|title=Surf lake beside the M5 in Devon is getting closer|first=Daniel|last=Clark|date=20 July 2020|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.edenproject.com/media/2014/11/eden-project-heads-westwood-into-devon|work=Eden Project|title=Eden Project heads "Westwood" into Devon|date=4 December 2014}}{{dead link|date=April 2022}}</ref> In January 2021 Smit submitted plans for a development in [[Lostwithiel]] consisting of an orchard with 3,000 fruit trees, a pottage garden, a multi-use building with cookery school, microbrewery, distillery, cider press and 20 accommodation units.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-55720166|publisher=BBC News|title=Eden Project's Tim Smit plans cookery school in Lostwithiel|date=19 January 2021|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>

==Politics==

In August 2014, Smit was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' opposing [[Scottish independence]] in the run-up to September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text|work=The Guardian|title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories|date=7 August 2014|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>

Prior to the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 UK general election]], he was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]]'s [[Caroline Lucas]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/24/celebrities-sign-statement-support-caroline-lucas-not-green-party|work=The Guardian|title=Celebrities sign statement of support for Caroline Lucas – but not the Greens|first=Jessica|last=Elgot|date=24 April 2015|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>

==Portraits of Smit==

The [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]] collection has two photographs of Tim Smit from 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/saction.php?search=ss&firstRun=true&sText=tim+smit|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606145123/http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/saction.php?search=ss&firstRun=true&sText=tim+smit|work=National Portrait Gallery|title=Tim Smit (1954-)|archive-date=6 June 2011}}</ref> In 2008, Smit agreed to sit for sculptor [[Jon Edgar]] in Fowey as part of his [[Environment Series]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jonedgar.co.uk/artwork/portrait-of-tim-smit-2/|website=jonedgar.co.uk|title=portrait of Tim Smit (2009)|access-date=25 July 2023}}</ref>

==Controversy==

In 2004, Eden Project co-founder [[Jonathan Ball (architect)|Jonathan Ball]] won over £1.8m in damages from the law firm [[Druces & Attlee]], which the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] found had failed to secure Ball's just financial reward when he left the project in 1997.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/3816713.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Damages win for Eden co-founder|date=17 June 2004|access-date=25 July 2023}}</ref>

In February 2022, Smit criticised what he regarded as the backward-looking tendency of some [[Cornish people]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/feb/16/eden-project-tim-smit-cornwall-attack|work=The Guardian|title=Eden Project co-founder under fire for rant about Cornish people|first=Steven|last=Morris|date=16 February 2022|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{Portal|Cornwall}}
*[https://www.educationalwealthfund.org Patron of Educational Wealth Fund] (2018)
*[http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/page.asp?id=3099 Tim Smit – A new eden] talk at the [[Royal Society]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050311205807/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/profile/tim_smit.shtml BBC Four profile of Tim Smit]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00949f5 Tim Smit] on BBC's ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/3233675.stm Tim Smit: Garden of Wales is a National Treasure]
* [http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk Social Enterprise Coalition]
* [http://www.edenproject.com/whats-it-all-about/behind-the-scenes/whos-who/index.php Eden Project website profile of Tim Smit]
* [http://howtomakeadifference.net/2010/06/tim-smit/ profile/interview of Smit by Fran Monks; How to Make a Difference]
* {{discogs artist|274589-Tim-Smit}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smit, Tim}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham]]
[[Category:British gardeners]]
[[Category:English knights]]
[[Category:English people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Dutch emigrants to England]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People educated at Cranbrook School, Kent]]
[[Category:People from The Hague]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]