2nd Annual "How Green is Your Campsite?" Challenge

[Green Bonnie]

To all Festivarians camping at Rocky Grass-

It's time to get Green!

To extend the spirit of sustainable festivation into the campgrounds, Planet Bluegrass is again running How Green is your Grass? - the 2nd annual creative campsite challenge. Coordinated by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, this contest encourages all of us to raise the bar for sustainable camping by honoring campsites that excel in achieving the highest levels of the Leave No Trace philosophy.
How Do I Participate?

The contest is open to all campers in any of the Planet Bluegrass-managed campgrounds. To nominate your own campsite or one of your neighbors:

   1. Take a digital photo of the campsite
   2. Print out your campsite photos at the Leave No Trace booth in Greentown inside the Festival.
   3. Submit a campsite entry form along with your printed photos.
   4. Stop by the Leave No Trace booth each day to view all the campsite entries and vote for your favorites. Campsite finalists will be chosen daily by staff and Festivarians.
   5. Leave No TracePlanet Bluegrass will select the grand prize winner after the campground pack-out is complete on Monday. The winner will be announced in the next “Notes from the Planet” email and on this web page.

How Do I Win?

We will be judging on three simple criteria:

   1. Cleanliness. Are you repackaging the food you bring? Are you keeping a tidy campsite? Are items secure and not susceptible to wind gusts? Are you safely disposing of cigarette butts?
   2. Sustainability. Are you separating your recyclables, compostables, and then placing them in the correct bins at the campsite waste stations? Are you reusing products (cups, utensils, water bottles, bags) instead of trashing them? Are you using any alternative energy sources to power your campsite? Did you bike or carpool to the festival; are you offsetting carbon emissions using wind credits or carbon offsets? Will you pack out as much as possible when leaving? Did you do anything to reduce your homes’ energy while attending the festival?
   3. Creativity. Does your campsite have a theme? Are you utilizing any unique and innovative camping techniques?

What Do I Win?

One nominated campsite will be chosen as a finalist each day. One grand prize winner will be selected after the campground pack-out on Monday from the three daily finalists. This grand prize winner will receive a pair of On-Site Camping passes for the 2009 Festival.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So my question to all you camping Festivarians, is what are you planning on doing to be a green campsite?
I am looking forward to seeing all the entries!

Safe travels
Bonnie 

[Green Bonnie]

  I wanted to let y'all know too that thanks to our friends at Eco-Products we will be distributing  green compost bags for you to pick up and use at your campsite.

You can pick one up at the Box Office, Meadow Park  or  at the Olson Campground.

Be sure to stop by one of these places and grab a bag.

Thanks and we'll see y'all soon!

Bonnie



 Listening to: the Rocky Grass Academy Banjo Workshop

[Dancin-feet]

I wish that I would have read this BEFORE the festival....but there is always the next one!
Think GREEN! Be GREEN!

[sutton]

If you are reading this thread, you may be interested in this:

Interview with Steve Szymanski on green festivals

 Listening to: John Prine

[Dancin-feet]

That was nice. Thank you for sharing!

[Ron N Deb]

 
Thanks Sutton !
 

[BanZoid]

Who won this?  There were a few good camps out there.

[Green Bonnie]

“How Green is Your Grass?” Campsite Challenge

And the Rocky Grass Winner is.......

Brando and Amando-

Some of the things they were doing-
Recycling and composting
Buying local beer in glass growlers
Using reusable water bottles
Planning ahead to bring items that can either be recycled or composted.

Congratulations to Brando and Amando who will receive a pair of onsite camping tickets to next years Rocky Grass.

  A Big Green Applause goes to the other two daily finalists-

Melon Camp & Coleman Square


Thanks to all who entered the contest!  14 campsites entered!

[Green Bonnie]

The Winning Entry-

[Green Bonnie]

Congrats to the winners and runners up, but do we really need a contest to entice people to act as responsible as they should anyway   

Turtle, thanks for a great question-

We want the purpose of the contest to be that we  recognize those who are camping sustainably and have them
return the following year to serve as a model for other campsites.  While, yes it is our hope that all campsites will adopt a sustainable camping ethic, we feel that this contest provides an extra incentive to be mindful of how Festivarians are camping.  And too, many people around the country still aren't familiar with composting and reuse practices (water, beer containers and bags) but through programs like the "How Green is Your Campsite?" Challenge, we hope people will learn new things which will lead to small changes that add up to one big difference. 

Bonnie 

 Listening to: Carolina Chocolate Drops Hit Em Style

[TellurideTom]

If we can only teach enough people so there isn't such a big clean-up crew.
I simply can't understand how people can create so much trash and not pick up after themselves.
It's simple really!
If they'd only treat the planet like they do their own living room.
I may not have the most "green" campsite, but I do clean up after myself, to the extent that it's cleaner than when I got there.

[Ron N Deb]

Amen Tom !