Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Some see the Iraqi Marshes as the original Garden of Eden - but in recent decades this ancient ecosystem has been continually under threat.
The Eden in Iraq Project combines art, engineering and garden design to regenerate the marshes. Routed through reeds, the wastewater is cleaned by bacteria, transforming the sewage into minerals which provide nutrients for plants and fruit trees in the Wastewater Garden.
The project is an international collaboration between the founder of Nature Iraq, Jassim Al-Asadi, artist Meridel Rubenstein and environmental engineer Davide Tocchetto, using the Wastewater Garden technology advocated by ecologist Mark Nelson.
Eden in Iraq is featured in Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, open now at Wellcome Collection.
Alt text: This reel shows Janice, curator of Thirst, inside the exhibition space. As she speaks to camera, we're shown annotated maps and satellite imagery displaying the position of the marshes near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Other images and video clips show the efforts of the Eden in Iraq project to regenerate the marsh landscape using modern and traditional ecological methods.
Credit: Eden In Iraq Wasterwater Garden Site Plan, 2011-ongoing, Al-Chibayish, Courtesy of Meridel Rubenstein and Davide Tocchetto
Some see the Iraqi Marshes as the original Garden of Eden - but in recent decades this ancient ecosystem has been continually under threat.
The Eden in Iraq Project combines art, engineering and garden design to regenerate the marshes. Routed through reeds, the wastewater is cleaned by bacteria, transforming the sewage into minerals which provide nutrients for plants and fruit trees in the Wastewater Garden.
The project is an international collaboration between the founder of Nature Iraq, Jassim Al-Asadi, artist Meridel Rubenstein and environmental engineer Davide Tocchetto, using the Wastewater Garden technology advocated by ecologist Mark Nelson.
Eden in Iraq is featured in Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, open now at Wellcome Collection.
Alt text: This reel shows Janice, curator of Thirst, inside the exhibition space. As she speaks to camera, we're shown annotated maps and satellite imagery displaying the position of the marshes near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Other images and video clips show the efforts of the Eden in Iraq project to regenerate the marsh landscape using modern and traditional ecological methods.
Credit: Eden In Iraq Wasterwater Garden Site Plan, 2011-ongoing, Al-Chibayish, Courtesy of Meridel Rubenstein and Davide Tocchetto
