This year’s Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park saw over 100,000 concert goers a day. Resource management becomes a big logistical issue when dealing with that many people and the Outside Lands team did a great job implementing sustainable systems to keep the crowds happy and safe while reducing the negative impact on the environment and promoting sustainable values.
The 3-day festival’s commitment to sustainability led to the production of Eco Lands. Eco Lands consisted of an educational forum of sustainability showcasing an alternatively powered stage, urban gardening workshops, local community organizations, national NGOs, a farmer’s market, locally sourced food vendors, refillable water stations and a recycling store.
The solar stage coupled with a biofuel generator created a self-contained green power source to power the stage. The refillable water stations encouraged people to bring reusable water bottles to fill up all weekend long, reducing plastic water bottle consumption. A fully equipped farmers market supplied fresh, organic, local produce for concert goers, which helps to promote local organic agriculture. A huge bike valet made biking to the concert an attractive option for those who did not want to drive, thus reducing green house gas emissions.
Urban gardening workshops nurtured urbanite’s green thumbs and encouraged more gardens in urban areas. The trash recycle store handed out prizes for people who picked up rogue recyclables, encouraging concert goers to clean up after themselves. Waste management’s presence was strong as Clean Vibes informed people of what trash to throw where and combed Golden Gate Park during and after the concert to keep the park clean.
As you can see, there are many ways Outside Lands promotes sustainability and should be applauded for investing in this type of an effort. It is investments like these that keep this festival favorable in the eye of the public, the city and the park. Good job Outside Lands!
Thank you to www.sfoutsidelands.com for the photos.
