Attendees at this year’s Garden Centre Association (GCA) annual conference in January will hear from co-founder and executive vice chair of the award-winning Eden Project, Sir Tim Smit KBE.

Smit will talk to GCA members on Tuesday 28 January about the value of leading by example, how to engage teams and meeting challenges head on.

Iain Wylie, chief executive of the GCA, explained: “We’re honoured that Sir Tim Smit KBE will be joining us for our annual conference. He is a fantastic and inspirational orator and we’re sure our members will thoroughly enjoy hearing everything he has to say.

“Everyone who is familiar with the Eden Project will know how successful it has been. It has received more than 20 million visitors since it opened its doors in 2001 and is both a showcase for world-class horticulture and an architectural symbol of human endeavour. Eden has taken a pivotal role in local regeneration, showing that sustainability is about good business practice and citizenship. It has contributed £2billion to the local economy and its next planned development is a huge geothermal plant, designed to meet all Eden’s energy needs and power 5,000 homes.”

The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide.