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Dec 08

Behind The Scenes: The Date Change

By Community, Nest 2025

Hey Nestlings!

You’ve seen a lot of communications this year about event dates. Maybe you’ve voted in surveys, written comments, contributed to conversations… Ultimately the decision was made to shift the dates to the half-term holiday for 2025 and revert back in 2026 to the way we have been doing things, and then reassess for future years. 

In this piece, we want to bring you in behind-the-scenes, and share with you the process of how this decision came to be. You might learn something about how the Burning Nest sausage gets made! You may even be inspired to join the organising team yourself. 

The Background

The last two years, Burning Nest has run so that Strike Monday (i.e the end of the event) falls on the late May bank holiday. However, this is ever-so-slightly out of kilter with the half-term break that usually starts on that same bank holiday. In 2018 and 2022, the event started on the bank holiday and corresponded with half-term. A common concern is that by not falling during half-term, we automatically exclude families, teachers and the like from ever being able to attend. 

Every year we get feedback about the event date. So this year we opened a community consultation.

Community Consultation

We initially reached out to the community asking for thoughts on a Google form. We got a bunch of people engaging which was amazing, but we also realised there was no way for people to see the comments people had submitted... curses. This meant there was a limit to discussion or for people to consider some of the excellent points raised.

So we moved to Loomio. This allows more of a forum-style comment section, and we were stoked that people also engaged with the discussion over there. However, we acknowledge that switching part-way through meant we lost some people, potentially had some double-voting, and it all got a bit confusing. We learnt pretty quickly from this so won't be doing that again!

The Results

Here's where it gets sticky. When we split ourselves across two different platforms, we also found ourselves with two opposing sets of results. The Google form data showed a clear preference for moving, while the Loomio results suggested we should keep the dates the same. Using Loomio feedback from the community we were able to make a consensus decision-making process and not a popularity pool.

From the community input in Loomio we understood the most common sentiments against moving the dates were:

  • The likelihood of having less people in the event as it is harder to some get holiday from work
  • The event will clash with Fire in the Mountain and Flim Flam therefore won't be able to come
  • The change in the demographics of people and ages might inhibit radical self-expression

And the pro movement of the dates were:

  • Inclusion, by giving the possibility to more people to attend the event

There were plenty of other excellent discussion points which we'll come back to in a minute, but let's take a second on this one, cos it in itself is a tricky one!

The Debate

The org team had a lively debate on this - especially because ultimately both sides of the coin come down to inclusion. Our theme camps are a really valued part of our event, and we know that they contribute a lot to the energy of Nest. But ultimately we couldn't get away from the idea that the dates as they are automatically exclude those families who might want to attend; by contrast, if members of a camp choose to go to another event instead, this is a loss to us but ultimately their call.

Some of the questions around this:

  • Does this apply to all members of any given theme camp? 
  • Would we make the same calls no matter which camp was attending or not attending?
  • Do we have a guarantee that keeping the dates the same would automatically mean any given camp would be present?
  • Is there potential for other camps or art projects to arise if an existing one bows out?
  • And so on and so forth (it really was a lively debate).

Ultimately, the suggestion was made (and agreed) that we set the dates during half term for one, but not both of the next two years, to maximise the potential for inclusion.

But Which Year??

While changing the dates either 2025 or 2026 next felt like a logical decision, there were still a number of points to address.

We agreed unanimously that while the council have always been happy with our safeguarding and procedures, that if Nest dates fell during half term we personally would like to have more robust measures in place. Starting with a families lead and a safeguarding lead to make sure we assess all aspects of Nest with these hats on.

We discussed testing increased measures for 2025 with a view to moving in 2026, but recognised that it would likely be parents who might take up these additional safeguarding roles, and therefore we might struggle to recruit if the dates weren't during half term to begin with.

We agreed to ask the community for help, and gauge the response. If we got sufficient volunteers, we could proceed with discussions around moving dates for 2025. September meeting was adjourned here with a view to voting in October.

The Response

As ever, you folks blew us out of the water. We got a massive response from people interested in both roles - enough to validate that people were really passionate about the ability of families to come to Nest. And as always, the more the merrier - if this is an area you care about, please do get in touch with our Vols lead.

The Vote

So then to the vote - even though you know how it ended!

We did however, have plenty still to talk about. Including some things we still don't have the answers for! We discussed:

  • The importance of clearly communicating expectations to parents regarding caregiving
  • Which days of the week to start and end on
  • How Temple burn might be impacted on Sunday night, if people need to go back to work on Monday
  • Strike volunteer numbers and the risk of these decreasing
  • Theme camp build and strike timeline impacts
  • And more!

Ultimately, the date change passed with just over 60% of Circle Links voting to make the switch for this year.

Conclusion

Seriously, we put in a lot of time trying to make sure we considered all of the outcomes to try and do the best by everybody. We know it's not going to be foolproof - but we really did our best. Hopefully that shows in this extremely long article too - we're aiming for transparency so you can see how we got here.

The intention is to revert to the usual dates for 2026 and assess how it all went, along with any changes we need to make to our new safeguarding roles and processes going forward.

So if you're keen to be a part of it - let us know! Our Vols team is only an email away 😉

May 15

Easy Peasy Food Plan – Thriving Guide

By Education, Nest 2024

A question we get all the time from new burners: what do you eat?!

If you’re not equipped with a van or a fully-fledged camp cooking set-up, it can be a little intimidating to start planning meals. But fear not! I, as an extremely lazy camper, have a list of ideas for you on the lowest maintenance meals that I use as my go to.

BREAKFAST

  1. Fruit

  2. Croissants or muffins etc will last you the first couple of days

  3. Oats stacked with toppings - try Nutella and buckwheat chips, cinnamon and brown sugar, or peanut butter with nuts and seeds to make it *delicious*

NON-COOK LUNCH & DINNER

My go-to is reeeally stacked sandwiches - nice cheese, thick layer of hummus, some chutney, baby spinach, slices of cucumber/tomato/bell pepper, avocado, maybe some tinned tuna or similar if you eat meat.

NON-COOK SNACKS

  1. Baby food pouches

  2. Granola bars

  3. Chocolate

  4. Gummy lollies of some description

  5. Fruit, esp bananas cos you can get em green and they last well

  6. Crackers & cheese, chutney, grapes etc

  7. Crisps & dips

  8. Trail mix - good bumbag snack too

EASY COOK MEALS

  1. Noodles, but fry up some egg for on top

  2. Veggie stir fry and boil in a bag rice

  3. Cous cous with veg, chickpeas & tinned tomato

  4. Wraps

  5. Pasta

  6. Falafel mix (pre-made, just fry)

  7. Nachos - make with tinned tomato and beans + whatever veg is left + nacho chips + cheese/guac/salsa

  8. Risotto mixes in a packet can be good too, with optional veg

If you're organised, I recommend having a few frozen meals in their individual takeaway-style tupperware. They defrost over the first couple days while keeping the rest of your cooler cold; then reheated curries are great.

Bonus: Did you know you can make instant mashed potato and packet gravy and it's baaaasically KFC in a field?

A note on veg:

A quick google is easiest to figure out what keeps well unrefrigerated. I eat my bag of baby spinach at the start of the week, carrots go bad after a few days, but bell pepper keeps surprisingly well, for example. Then just eat according to what's going bad.

And a note on planning:

I personally tend to eat a snacky breakfast and then one main meal on a burn day - there's so much happening that I don't want to spend time in camp cooking and I’m often less hungry than usual when my sleep schedule is out of whack. Having some treats in your bag for when you get hungry in the evenings (jelly snakes or lollipops, whaddup) is always good for a quick top up if you’re gonna be dancing til the wee hours! Or you may find you’re hungrier than normal being out in the fresh air all day - it’s pretty individual. But as with all things radical self-reliance, it pays to be prepared rather than risk going hungry.

And hey, if all else fails - you can always sign up for volunteer shifts and be fed through the Volunteer Kitchen instead 😉

 

Written by Emma, our marvelous Volunteer Kitchen Lead.

 

Feb 07

Bringing Art to Burning Nest in a Post-Brexit World

By Art, Nest 2024

Dear International Nestlings,

We welcome you to join us at Burning Nest this year! And if you are that way inclined, we want for you to be able to bring your artistic creations to Nest as well.

Understanding the legal landscape of bringing goods into the UK may seem daunting in a post-Brexit world. Or maybe you hadn't even thought about it at all! Either way, we've got you covered. See below for our handy reference guide.

For all the rest of it, like funding, communication, placement, LBT, practicalities, etc., check out the Art Grants page and submit an application! The next round of Art Grant reviews is on February 22nd, and the final round is April 22nd.

Bringing Art to Burning Nest - Outside UK InfoDownload
Jan 31

We Want You! To Write Long Form Content

By Community, Education, Nest 2024, Volunteering

Your experiences, opinions and values matter. Share your perspective with the wider Nest community, and help inspire them to participate at the Burn in ways you enjoy.

Have you had a great time doing volunteering shifts during the Burn?

Say why it's so great to be a Ranger or Greeter or cook in the Volunteer Kitchen or do MOOP Sweeps!

Did you create some amazing art? Put on a fantastic event? Bring together a really cool theme camp?

How did you do it? Your words could help others do something similar, with their own flavour of course!

Do you have any special stories from Nest relating to Burner Principles or your own personal values?

Share them, and inspire other Nestlings to Burn like you.

How Does it Work?

So you want to write an article! Fantastic! We're glad to have you on board.

  1. Choose a topic to write about
  2. Get in touch with us at comms@burningnest.co.uk. We'll have a chat to see if it's the right fit
  3. We agree on a timeline for writing and editing your piece. (You will be supported by the Comms team throughout!)
  4. Write your article according to the guidelines below. (Hint: the final product should look something like this piece!)
  5. We publish your piece here, in the News section of the website, and possibly post a blurb and link on social media and in the Carrier Pigeon Newsletter

General Guidance/Specification:

  • The article should be ~300 to ~800 words long
  • Break it up into sections with headers
  • Use 1 or more photos. Use your own, take from the community photo drive (no people without explicit consent), get something from the internet, generate with AI or make specific requests so someone else can find the right thing
  • You can choose to sign with your name and photo -- or remain anonymous!
  • Be respectful, stay positive. Represent Burning Nest well
  • Be mindful that first time Burners and Nestlings are among the audience. Speak to them, and avoid too much jargon
  • All articles will be reviewed and edited before posting

Potential Article Topics

Here is a list of some potential topics we'd love to see articles about. If you see one you'd like to pick up, please send a message to comms@burningnest.co.uk to see if it's the right fit.

  • Profile on kitchen
  • Profile on community team
  • Fluff the fluff out of build
  • Profile on Temple
  • Making an Art Piece
  • Applying for an Art Grant
  • Hosting a workshop
  • Starting a Theme Camp
  • Joining a Theme Camp
  • Hosting an event
  • DJing at a TC
  • Rangering
  • Doing Welfare shifts
  • Doing Gate shifts
  • Doing LBT shifts
  • Profile on Consent Team
  • What is Strike like?

Do you want to write about something else that isn't on this list? Let's hear about it! Send an email to comms@burningnest.co.uk.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Yours,

Treasure

Comms Link

Sep 15

The Burning Nest 2022 Photo Album is Here!

By Nest 2022

The Nest 2022 official photo album is here!

Please note: below link is a form to request access to the photo album, it is not publicly accessible.

Once your submission is received our glorious volunteers will check your email to ensure a ticket was indeed purchased on your behalf before sharing the link.

Once confirmed, and you receive the email - we ask that you respect everyones privacy and not redistribute the link on Facebook or other socials.

All ticket holders who consented to being contacted by Nest HQ when purchasing their ticket should have received an email with the album link. If you attended Nest 2022 and did not receive an email please follow the link at the bottom of this post and fill in the form so we can get a link sent out to you!

Principles of the photos: -

  • Rules are meant to be broken so we don’t want to call them that. Think of them as principles that help us all respect others consent and the communities wishes:
  • Please get permission from everyone in a photo before sharing publicly or online.
  • Pictures with just you: go wild! Post them online, stick ‘em to the fridge, show your mom or hang it in the loo.
  • Any pictures without people can be used freely online and on socials.
  • If you would like any of the photos taken down, reply to the email once received and let us know. Other than that, the photos are yours – use them as you like!

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Harry for beautifully capturing amazing (and ridiculous) moments of a long awaited coming together of the community.

We can’t wait to do it all again!

Nest 2022 photo album request form
Apr 28

Important changes to early site access for 2022

By Nest 2022, Volunteering

They say that the early bird catches the worm.... but what about the early bird that builds Nest? This year it catches a WAP (Work Access Pass).

And we love a spot of bird watching so all types of early birds are welcome and encouraged. If you have been to Nest before then you might need to know that there are some changes this year for early entry. Since we are now a licenced event and have even more of our friends coming this year, we have to be a bit stricter when it comes to early access. That’s why this year there is a WAP system (Working Access Passes).

During build week and right up until gate opens at 8am on Monday 30th May the site is a working site and you will only be permitted on site if you have a pre-arranged WAP with us. WAPs are only granted for legitimate work reasons. These are – joining DPW to come for build (and strike), building a Theme Camp, building an Art project, deliveries, and early key volunteers (rangers, gate, welfare).

DPW build dates: 23rd May – 29th May
Theme Camp build dates: 27th May – 29th May
Key volunteers: 29th May
Gate opens: 8am, 30th May

And while changes and new systems sound scary and difficult, please know, that the introduction of the WAP system is not a way of excluding, it is in fact an invitation, nay… a challenge even….. to sign up for DPW and come and do build, get as many of your Theme Camp mates doing build, and sign up for those early gate / ranger/ welfare shifts. You never know, you might even have fun doing it.

Got another legitimate reason to come early and need a WAP?
Please email: DPW@burningnest.co.uk

Apply for a crew/build WAP
Apply for a theme camp/artists/volunteers WAP
Apr 27

Water, water everywhere…

By Community, Nest 2022

... please make sure you bring enough!

There has been some confusion around the drinking water supply this year, and to clear it all up we’re happy to provide some clarity. We have one water tap on-site, providing drinking water. It is located at the bottom of the hill, a way away from free-camping. You are welcome and encouraged to use it, but you must bring your own containers and transport them to your camps/tents/secret lairs yourselves.

In previous years we have had community-organised water deliveries, via a local company that delivers large (think water cooler size) re-usable bottles, straight to site. They then collect the empties at the end of the event. This has historically proved popular, especially with free-camping, theme camps and people not able or inclined to transport their own water to site.

This year, some members of the community are also looking into building a system that will transport drinking water from one end of the site to the other. While this is a fantastic project and has amazing potential as a long term solution for future events, this is still very much an experiment at the moment and should not be relied upon in lieu of any other water supply this year.If you’d like to get involved with either the bottled water delivery to site, or the new project to pump water around the site, please get in touch with us at community@burningnest.co.uk.

Hope this clears things up!

Apr 13

Ticket drop next week!

By Nest 2022, Tickets

We're happy to announce that the next drop of 300 tickets will be on 19th April at 7pm (UK time)!

Tell me more...

We'll be releasing Standard, Starship, Thundership and Sparkleship tickets on Tuesday evening, from our ticket page here. You will also be able to buy Child tickets and Parking passes, and optionally donate to our Art Grants and Leave a Better Trace funds.

These funds allow us to offer more money to people bringing art or projects to Nest, and work on initiatives that will improve Burning Nest's impact on our beautiful site. If you're able to donate, please do! Burning Nest is not-for-profit, so every penny we raise get invested back into making our event better every year.

Inclusion tickets

If you have filled in an inclusion form but not yet bought a ticket, don't panic. You will be contacted soon with a direct link to purchase your inclusion ticket. 

If you bought an inclusion ticket without filling a form in (naughty!), please contact us to provide your details. You must do this by 30th April or your ticket will be refunded.

Rollover tickets 

If you have a ticket from 2020 that you have not refunded, you need to claim it to be able to attend Burning Nest 2022. You will have been sent an email with a unique link and a code - please follow the instructions and claim your ticket by 30th April.

Any rollover tickets (both standard and inclusion) not claimed by 30th April, will be added back to the pot. You will not be refunded, and you will not be able to get in at the Gate with just a 2020 ticket!

Apr 09

300 more tickets for sale very soon!

By Nest 2022

We're happy to announce we've been able to expand our capacity for 2022, and will be releasing 300 more tickets for purchase very soon!

When?

We don't have an exact date yet, but we will send out another email when we are able to confirm the release date and time. 

Inclusion tickets

We know there are a few people still waiting for inclusion tickets after filling in our form - as an apology for the process being a bit muddled this year, we will be contacting you all directly to allow you to buy your inclusion tickets, separately from the general release of 300. Again, we don't have a date for this yet, but it will be soon.

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