What is Leave No Trace?
Leave No Trace is a code of ethics… we are an organisation that love and care for the environment in Ireland. Leave No Trace Ireland promotes and inspires responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships. The programme strives to build awareness, appreciation and respect for Ireland’s natural and cultural heritage and is dedicated to creating a nationally recognised and accepted outdoor ethic that promotes personal responsibility.
We are about encouraging people to consider what they can do to make the festival a better place and reduce their impact. We cannot monitor thousands of people (nor would we want to), looking after our environment is a personal choice. At Leave No Trace we share research and science around best practice when it comes to protecting the Irish environment – the rest is up to you!
Leave No Trace are excited to announce our latest partnership with Eco Tourism Ireland. Ecotourism Ireland is an organisation set up to stimulate the development of ecotourism countrywide. Leave No Trace are happy to announce Eco tourism will be joining us at the Leave No Trace Campsite at Electric Picnic 2013.
The Leave No Trace Campsite
What does a Leave No Trace Campsite look like? Remember that lovely green field you walked on to, to put your tent up and prepare yourself for a weekend of music? Well by Monday, our campsite will look almost identical to how it was on Friday.
Practicing good camping etiquette at the Leave No Trace Electric Picnic campsite is very simple: leave the place you camp the same or better than you found it; leave no trace of your having been there, so that others can enjoy the land the rest of the year.
Electric Picnic has already incorporated sustainability as a key aspect of the festival, like recycled art installations; promotion of car-pooling, public transport and the famous Tour de Picnic. This year Leave No Trace have come on board to take this green stuff even further by encouraging Electric Picnic festival goers to take everything with them when they leave – including, above all, their TENTS!
At the campsite you will be asked to consider the following…
· Travel on designated/marked paths or roads, so as not to cause unnecessary trampling of fragile plants or habitats.
· You can prevent creating campfire scars by using gas stoves, even disposable BBQ’s can burn soil badly enough to prevent regrowth for 3 years.
· No one likes signs of human waste and rubbish at a campsite; it’s just not nice, visually or practically. There are bins and loos, use them.
· Take care not to pollute lakes and streams. Use designated loos only (yes we know the queue is crazy) and try to dry hand wash or use biodegradable detergents – antibacterial washes in the water kill good bacteria too, necessary for the ecosystem to work properly.
· Be considerate and avoid making loud noises that disturb wildlife and other campers – ok so yes festivals are not quiet affairs, but if you wander off into areas that are a little quieter try and match the sound levels or even enjoy the relative peace there.
· When planning how to get here, consider taking the bike or using public transport to get here. If you have to use your car, try to car pool so as to reduce the carbon footprint – and you might make a friend or two… Check out the Tour de Picnic 2013 to bike to the picnic while raising money for charity.
At Leave No Trace we are all about taking care of the outdoors, we recognise that we each have a personal responsibility when outdoors, and that no one is watching us to make sure we do the right thing. That my friend is all down to you! Leave No Trace is here simply to inform you as to what the ‘right thing’ is for the environment. We hope that with your help at this year’s Leave No Trace campsite at Electric Picnic we can leave the campsite in pristine condition.
