Today’s Blog Action Day, a day when bloggers all around the world are uniting to talk about one important issue: the environment.
We all care about it, but what’s it got to do with music? Plenty. Musicians all over the world are getting climate clever, putting on environmentally-friendly tours, and educating their fan bases about the importance of conservation.
One of the best examples of this is the organisers of Byron Bay’s East Coast Blues and Roots Festival. This very cool event has just won a Greener Festival Award from the UK-based website, AGreenerFestival.com.
“Doing ‘the right thing’ is what should be done anyway, and we have up till now not publicised our ongoing commitment to social and environmental responsibility,” explained the festival’s director, Peter Noble.
“However, I see the increasing importance of public awareness on all environmental issues and to lead by demonstration.”
There are so many cool things about the way the festival is run that most of us don’t even realise. All food stalls at the festival only use compostable plates and utensils. All plastic glasses and cardboard used at the festival is recycled and reused. The festival follows the policy “Aim for zero waste and ‘leave no trace,'” and organisers ensure the site is returned to its original state. Bluesfest also transfers waste to TiTree BioEnergy Facility, which in turn transforms the waste to clean energy.
The festival’s always been green, but it will amp up its environmental efforts when it moves into its new home at Belongil Fields next year.
“We will be installing wind and solar power, and we will have bio-diesel. We will strive to be the best and we will have the same motives through the whole festival.”
And of course, Bluesfest always has a killer line-up. Early-bird tickets are already on sale for the event, which runs from Thursday March 20 to Monday March 24.
Image source: Noah Buscher @ Unsplash