How to Festival Leave No Trace Style

Ah, festivals. Festivals take many forms-people gather to celebrate music, chess, pride, silent film, culture, and so many other wonderful things that are certainly worth celebrating. Of all the fun and fascinating festivals that exist in this world, one common denominator links these potentially unconnected celebrations together- the culmination of people.

It is not just you, or me, it is all of us- and we are in it together. So how can we work together to become the cleanest, greenest, most sustainable festival-goers out there? Leave No Trace has a Festival ethics card! Follow these steps to festival Leave No Trace style.

Know Before You Go

Before heading to the festival, consider buying your food from local suppliers and repackage your food so that you’re not bringing extra trash and recycling into the festival. Bring reusable cups, plates, napkins, produce bags, silverware and more! This will reduce the amount of trash you generate at the festival.

Stick to Trails and Camp Overnight Right

If possible, bring a bike to travel around town! Walk, ride, camp and dance only on designated trails and areas to protect vegetation.

Leave It as You Find It

Turn off faucets and showers when finished so as not to waste water!

Be Considerate of Others

By being a respectful and friendly festival goer, you can ensure that the local community will continue to host the festival in the future. Work together with other nearby campers to share your resources and strive to Leave No Trace in a fun and festive manner!

Like these tips? Check out the Leave No Trace Festival ethics card to learn even more fun ways to reduce your impacts. And remember, Leave No Trace is a spectrum- the needs of one person may be different for another, and there are so many ways that we can work together to reduce our individual and cumulative impacts! Happy festivaling!

Want more? Check out the video below!

Enjoy Your World. Leave No Trace.

Leave No Trace’s Monika Baumgart and David LeMay are part of the 2019 Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Program that provides free, mobile education to communities across the country. Proud partners of this program include Subaru of America, REI, Eagles Nest Outfitters, Deuter, Thule, Fjällräven and Klean Kanteen.