1 The last 3 years out of 400 million: a progress report from Cornwall, UK. by J.D.Macadam 1 , T.Edwards 2 , H.V.Richards 3 and R.J.Pine 4 Abstract At the first meeting of the European Geoparks Network in Molinos in 2000, an overview of Cornwall's geology was presented (Macadam, 2003b). As well as an outline of the geology, the state of geotourism, geoconservation, and geo-education in 2000 was reported. This poster highlights some of the developments since 2000. These include progress in research, progress in education at all levels from primary to postgraduate, publication of material for local people and visitors (some is available in major European languages), developments in visitor centres, development of a virtual museum of Cornish mining, and an audit of resources for the proposal for World Heritage status for the Cornish Mining Landscape. Much of the material is also available on the world-wide web. Reference Macadam, J.D., 2003b. Potential European Geoparks, and the present state of Geotourism, Geoconservation, and Geo-education in Cornwall, south-west Britain. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Geological Heritage Protection and Local Development, Sigri, Lesvos Island, Greece 2003. Report of the 2nd European Geoparks Network Meeting. Key Words: Geoconservation, Geological education, Geoparks, Geotourism, Earth heritage, Cornwall, UK. 1 John Macadam, Earthwords, Little Kirland House, Bodmin, Cornwall PL30 5BJ 2 Trevor Edwards, Director, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Five Acres, Allet, Truro, Cornwall TR4 9DJ 3 Helen Richards, Executive Member for the Environment and Heritage, Cornwall County Council, County Hall, Truro, Cornwall TR1 3AY 4 Bob Pine, Director, Camborne School of Mines, School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth Resources, University of Exeter, Redruth, Cornwall TR15 3SE Introduction Cornwall forms the extreme south-west tip of the United Kingdom, a marginal land in many senses. Remote from London and centres of population, surrounded on three sides by sea, sparsely populated, and economically deprived. Cornwall qualified for Objective One status, meaning it is one of the poorest regions in the European Union. The traditional industries of fishing, farming, mining and quarrying are much reduced. Fishing mostly took place from small indents in the rocky coast, where the vagaries of geological history and geological processes provided some small shelter from the force of the Atlantic, with further protection provided by man-made walls of local granite. Today fishing is concentrated in just a few ports. Farming may have the benefit of a milder climate than the rest of Britain, but most of the farms are small and barely competitive. In the past prodigious quantities of shell sand were hauled from the beaches to ‘sweeten’ the acid soil so crops grew better. As for mining, though Cornwall was for a time the major copper producer in the world, and also produced tin for several thousand years, the industry had its ups and downs, forcing Cornish miners to emigrate, taking their skills to dig up the Americas, southern Africa and Australia. Not one mine is still working, though the evidence of mining is almost all pervasive, and Cornwall has the highest percentage of land affected by mining of any county in