One of our 11 Principles has always been "Leave No Trace". With careful preparation, thought and consideration into how our event is run from the ground up, we're proud that every year we leave nothing behind in the Glade, other than some squares of yellow grass where our structures once stood.
Leave No Trace means that no rubbish hits the ground, and if it does, we will take responsibility for picking it up and disposing of it (even if we didn't drop it!). It means carrying an ashtray for our cigarette butts, having a dedicated recycling bin for cans, packing light to reduce crisp packets and wrappers, and avoiding glitter and loose sequins altogether!
This year, we are going one further. We believe that the burner community has the power to make a positive impact not only on the individuals who are part of it, but also on society at large.
This is why Burning Nest is adapting the original Burning Man principle of Leave No Trace to: Leave a Better Trace.
We want to honour the principle of leaving the environment as we found it. But why stop there when our community has such potential to leave a positive trace?
Examples of LBT include planting trees in a place that has been desertified; creating art or facilities that can be used by locals after you leave; awakening people to take further actions to protect and improve the environment or become activists.
This means our mission expanded to include:
- Reducing our environmental impact.
- Educating the community on environment related issues.
- Empowering the community to adopt more environmentally-friendly behaviour, both at burns and in daily life.
Our LBT crew is new this year, and are looking for ideas to leave our home (and the environment at large) better than when we found it. If you have ideas and want to get involved, please get in touch!
