Want to be part of the best crew at Burning Nest? Want to do something crucial for the event and give back to your community? Nest Department of Public Works (DPW) needs you!
Nest is an event unlike any other. It's not a festival, it's a social experiment in temporary community. The Department of Public Works (DPW) is one of the cornerstones in that community, building our infrastructure and taking it down again (and having a ton of fun along the way). DPW is responsible for running power, lights, co-ordinating toilets and overseeing waste removal (via Leave A Better Trace), as well as organising Rangers and Welfare. They also create and place signage, work with the Arts team to place installations, and help with parking.
No experience needed for most roles, there's space for everyone on the crew, as long as you have a willingness to graft, learn, can work in a team with loads of new friends in a field in the sunshine (we hope).
We have some specialist roles still to fill too: we need people urgently for Lighting, Workshop & General Build and Kitchen (aka Fluffers).
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!
We're making plans for our first community meeting of 2022, and we'd love your input! Our community meetings allow everyone to bring questions, feedback and proposals to the core team, and are also a great opportunity to meet new people!
The event may be in-person, but we will be streaming or holding a virtual event at the same time, to allow everyone to attend, regardless of location.
We've created a discussion on Loomio, asking about agenda items and possible dates - please let us know what you'd like to discuss!
This year we're very excited to announce that we'll have composting toilets on site for the first time! If you've used them before, you'll know that they smell much nicer than standard chemical portaloos, and are also way better for the environment. Plus, nothing beats the refreshing morning breeze on your bum!
We're looking for people to adopt these loos - to decorate them, and keep them tidy over the course of the event. Our Nestlings are usually very clean, so this isn't the daunting task you'd have at other, less friendly events.
This is a chance to turn the smallest room into something big and beautiful - think posters inside, lighting, even music? Something to read while you ponder the meaning of life? A mirrored disco ball?
You can adopt a loo as an individual, a group or even as a theme camp - if you'd like to, please contact DPW today!
This year, our event is running from 30th May - 5th June. In previous years, we've had a bank holiday Monday on the day after the last day, but this year, we have two bank holidays during the week of the event itself.
This has raised some questions around the nights of the two burns (Effigy and Temple). Previously, the Effigy Burn - a fun, exuberant celebration of our festival, is traditionally on Saturday night. The Temple Burn is on the Sunday night - a calmer, more reflective time to look back on the week and say goodbye to each other before we all leave.
Without the bank holiday Monday in 2022, we recognise that many people may be leaving on Sunday night, to get back to work on Monday. The question was raised about moving the burns backwards by a night, to give people the opportunity to attend both burns (Effigy on Friday and Temple on Saturday). There are arguments on each side, so in the interest of fairness and openness, we opened a poll on Loomio.
We'd love for everyone attending to cast a vote and let us know what you would like to do - currently, we do not have plans to change the burn nights, as our application for extended capacity this year is also based on the burns being on the usual nights, but we have the ability to change this if needed. We are also happy for campers and theme camps to strike on Monday morning, as previously, but as in previous years, there will not be power provided past Sunday night.
Thanks for reading, and please do let us know your views on Loomio - the poll will close on 9th March.
Every year we get the chance to walk around our beautiful site in Exeter before the event. It's a perfect opportunity for people bringing theme camps or art installations to see where they could be placed - and if you've not attended Nest before, it's a chance to meet some new friends and get a preview of our Glade!
We've planned for a group to attend on 9th April (possibly staying overnight) - if you'd like to join us, please fill in this form as soon as possible so we can get an idea of numbers.
Our tickets sold out in record time this year! If you missed out, all is not lost just yet.
Unclaimed rollover tickets: we still have rollover tickets from 2020's event, waiting to be claimed. If you purchased a ticket in 2020 and you have not followed the instructions in the email sent to you yet, please do so ASAP! The deadline for claiming rollover tickets is 30th April - after that, they will be added back into the ticket pool for resale. If you are unsure of whether you have a ticket, or have not received the email, please get in touch.
Private resale of tickets: if you bought a ticket (either this year or in 2020) and cannot attend, you can transfer it to someone else within Quicket. Simply log in, click My Tickets to view your ticket, then Transfer Tickets. You can fill in the recipient's details and the tickets will be safely transferred. The deadline for transferring tickets is now 30th May (increased from 30th April previously). If you want to resell a rolled-over ticket, you must claim it first.
Possibility of increased capacity: we are currently in discussion with the local council to expand our capacity over the current limit of 500 people. This would allow us to release another wave of tickets all at once, and increase the funding available for art grants. To make this possible, we need an idea of how many people want to attend, but have not been able to buy a ticket yet - so we have created a way to register your interest. Please fill in the form here, and send this on to anyone you know who would like to attend!
Important inclusion ticket note
We have noticed there are a few Inclusion tickets that have been purchased without filling in an Inclusion form first. You must fill in a form so that we can assess your situation and decide whether we can grant you a ticket - we have a limited amount available each year. If you have purchased a ticket and not filled the form in or spoken to our Inclusion team first, please do so now - otherwise your ticket will be refunded to you and your ticket added back to the pool. The deadline for this is 30th April.
It’s time to go home! After two years of being estranged from our beloved Nest it is finally time where we can all gather on the glade again and welcome each other home in whatever way that means to you at a burn. Be it your spiritual home, your desired community home or just the place where you feel your supreme self in the comfort of your own body. Home.
As we’ve spent the best part of two years in houses, vans, caves and buildings, furnished with memories, tat and loving comforts. This year's theme aims to make that transition back into the glade a little softer. Maybe even blur the lines a little.
‘Welcome Home’ is the theme. Imagine a glade full of those comforts; lamps, rugs, cushions, picture frame walls, board games, candle sticks and chimneys. Whatever home means to you bring those comforts to the glade and let us invite each other in. Maybe there’s something that kept you real warm these past two years that you’re not ready to part with or would like to share with a stranger. Maybe it’s a book you read that changed your outlook. Maybe it’s a comfy toy so hugged it’s holy. Maybe you’ve finally perfected that family recipe and want to have a dinner party by the lake with some old or new friends.
Whatever has kept you warm these past two years and feel comfortable to do so then by all means please bring. We want to see what home means to you, in every sense of the word. And what’s a better welcome home then a massive welcome home party! It’s going to be a special one this year and we can’t wait to see you there.
With Nest not so far on the horizon, we would like to share with the community information and inspiration to contribute to this years burn.
ARTS GRANTS APPLICATIONS, NOW OPEN!
We are now opening applications for Arts Grants to contribute to the burn. We welcome all types of art and are committed to being a fully inclusive event.
Please make sure you have read all of the information here:
All artists, like everyone else, must purchase a membership to Nest 2022.
If you are unable to afford a full membership, there will be low-income memberships available.
If you have not purchased a ticket yet, and are waiting for further ticketing sales, please let us know in your application. If the application is successful, we will do our best to help secure you a space.
Please fill in the application form if you are applying for a grant for an Art project, a Community project (performance or workshop) or a Theme Camp project.
Deadline for Grants Applications is: April 8th, 2022
INSPIRATION
We have created a ‘mood board’ to give you ideas and inspiration that sparks creativity and collaboration. View the Pinterest board. We don’t know what home means to you, so if yours looks different, bring it! if your ideas don’t look like this, show us!
We are searching for a co-lead to help produce Welfare Enough for Burning Nest 2022. Welfare Enough is a critical part of our event, providing support to Nestlings in need (with the full help of our on-site medic and security team) as well as helping organise Ranger shifts.
Key responsibilities
Liaising with, preparing and scheduling volunteers before the event via email & spreadsheets
Maintaining the rota before and during the event to ensure full staffing
Contributing to volunteer training
Acting as "Super" on call/on radio during 24 hour periods during the event (Meaning being largely sober every 24 hours, then taking 24 hours off. Sleeping, eating, swimming, dancing and frolicking during these periods is all well and great)
Supporting and debriefing volunteer sitters while acting as Super
Medical and ranger liaison in acute circumstances on site while acting as Super
Liaising with DPW and production team for build, strike and maintenance of the Welfare site while acting as Super
General site & volunteer herding, including stepping in for shift no-shows as needed
If possible, arriving on site Monday 30th May and leaving the next Monday 6th June
Skills needed
Experience sitting & being sat with
Good with rotas/admin/logistics
Can-do attitude
Committed to non-judgement as a core value
Open and collaborative
Works well in a team and event ecosystem
Medical, crisis or social worker, or has experience producing harm reduction or emergency services at burns or festivals a huge plus
If this sounds like you, or if you have any other questions, please get in touch!
Hey Nestlings! We know that building a community and chatting amongst ourselves is a bit difficult on Facebook, because of The Algorithms. Not to mention that you might not want your Great Aunty Jean reading your conversation about the best roll-on body paint for your Smurf costume…
So we’ve decided to launch our own Discord server! If you are down with the kids and know all about Discord already, follow this link to join.
If you aren’t sure how Discord works, don’t despair! There is a great beginner’s guide here, and in short: it’s a free server with multiple channels that allow you to chat! You can talk via text (like Slack) or in a voice channel. The app is available for your phone, tablet or computer, so you can chat on the go too.
A community is only as good as its members though, so join up, and tell your friends! We want our Discord to be a place for all burners - old, new and prospective! Feedback is very welcome too - if you think we need a channel for something, tell us!
