Conservationist (and sometime songwriter)

Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project, has been referred to in some quarters as the 'Richard Branson of Cornwall'; Smit, however, glosses over his past life as a songwriter and producer – adding, with a wink, that his greatest contribution to music was probably getting out of the business altogether.

Music's loss, however, ended up being conservation's gain; his efforts have seen millions of visitors flocking to his projects in the southwest of England, while raising awareness of ecological issues across the globe.

Born in 1954 in the Netherlands, he was educated in the UK and eventually became a slightly disenchanted archaeology student. After embarking on a musical career and securing a healthy nest-egg – not to mention a number of gold discs – he 'retired' to Cornwall with his family in 1987, where he made a discovery that would completely change the direction of his life.

He found that he was living next door to a Victorian garden that had become hideously overgrown, and he immediately assembled a team to set about restoring it. Two years later, it opened to the public as the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and quickly became one of Cornwall's major tourist attractions.

'The only thing that motivates humans is the heart.'

Bitten by the botany bug, he came up with idea that would become his most famous: the Eden Project. The majestic construction in a disused clay pit now houses over a quarter of a million plants from across the globe – or, as Smit describes it, 'a living theatre of plants'.

It's Smit's ability to communicate his sheer enthusiasm for the subject which has made both Heligan and Eden so popular with the public. Frustrated by the inability of many in the field of science and conservation to get their message across effectively, he has made it his task to inform, educate and entertain the public – without dumbing down the underlying message.

'Of course there is a lot of bad news in conservation,' he says. 'But you won't succeed by saying that the world is coming to an end. The only thing that motivates humans is the heart.' Following many years of spreading his inspirational message, Smit finally received a CBE from the Queen in 2002 in recognition of his outstanding achievements.