Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace should become a standard catchphrase used when talking about psytrance parties. In fact it should be embedded in our ethos, in our subconscious before we even leave to go to a party.
Are our egos too big to bend down and pick something up and throw it in the bin?”
Lately I have been feeling very overwhelmed by the state of the world and the way us humans are treating it. Everywhere you look just seems to be surrounded by chaos.
On social media I feel bombarded by posts of destruction, racism, WAR, deforestation, Monsanto, Fracking, Fukushima’s nuclear waste destroying our oceans, political greed taking over our natural resources, and then for me the main one… the consumerism that is creating all this waste in the first place.
One drives down the road and you see litter everywhere, walking the dog on the beach, more litter!!!! … I’m exhausted just trying to make a short list of the chaos we call our reality.
Leave no trace in wonderland
I feel grateful that every weekend or so I get to have the opportunity to run away to “wonderland” and just take a few hours to be happy in the festival space. We get to spend the weekend in the mountains or by the ocean or in the forest under the shade of beautiful trees, and we can actually just take a breath of fresh air and feel like a [human] being on this planet for a moment…
But then my state of euphoria and happy bubble is burst when I look around our sacred wonderland and it is just littered with empty bottles, cigarette stompies and discarded party waste everywhere. I get so fucking upset! Here we have the opportunity created for us by hard working event promoters yet party goers can’t seem to respect that?
It bothers me to my core to look at a venue after the party. Litter on the dancefloor is one thing, but why do the camp sites have to look absolutely disgusting. I am shocked at my local psy scene, I am saddened by the disregard and disrespect people give towards our space. We are living in the 21st century and we are supposed to be advancing as humans with technology and self-awareness, yet it seems to be the opposite.
I have stayed at parties after the masses have left and it is horrific!
You have never seen such messy campsites and surrounding areas. Why is it so hard for you to clean up your camp or car and put your rubbish in a bag and leave it for the cleaners? Heaven forbid you separate your plastic from your waste for recycling; I mean let’s just get the rubbish into a bag.
It bemuses me when I hear people point fingers at poor communities for their litter, but to be honest I feel our so-called educated middle-class are worse because we are the biggest consumers and to see people’s complete disregard for their surroundings at parties is disheartening.
Are our egos too big to bend down and pick something up and throw it in the bin? There seems to be an ethos that ‘if it isn’t mine I don’t need to pick it up and throw it away.’
FYI: Saying you’re too wasted is not an excuse, cleaning when you drunk can be fun!!!
I spoke to Monique Tacon from Nano Records / Origin / Earth Dance and asked her opinion on this subject:
People think that just because they have bought a ticket that the fee includes someone to pick up after them. It breaks my heart to see how people throw their trash on the ground. Over the years we have even given ashtrays away at our events and then those also become litter. There is no excuse for throwing your trash and cigarette butts on the ground, it just means that you are damn lazy and an idiot!”
More stomping less stompies
Leave no trace means exactly that.
The cigarette stompies; I mean WTF people?
I won’t lecture you on the ills of smoking, that’s a conversation for another day, but why is it okay to finish your cigarette and throw it on the ground?
What gives you the right to do this? Besides a direct disrespect for the party and the dance floor, that stompie doesn’t disintegrate into thin air! Someone has to go and pick it up after you leave, or it becomes part of poisoning the earth. It’s no secret the chemicals they put in cigarettes to make you smoke more. That shit is now being left to be absorbed into the ground.
Suggestion: Stub your ciggie and put it in your pocket or carry your own disposable ashtray with you. Or simply look for a bin. The dancefloor won’t miss you for the 5 minutes it takes to walk to a bin.
Realisation
Does the party going public realise how much work, sacrifice and dedication goes into creating a party or festival?
Do you all understand that months of work and personal investment of time and money goes into creating our little wonderland of escapism. Farmers and land owners are assured that their property will be respected and looked after.
Why can’t we show them the courtesy by being respectful and grateful towards them and mother earth?
This is what an outdoor festival campsite should look like!
Next time you are dancing and smiling and loving the party in the nature, seriously think about your surroundings and your personal actions, be self-aware and start to wake up. The biggest reason why we come together at these events is because we have a calling to wake up to the realities of this world and ourselves and to become more conscious human beings.
So I beg of you, next time you are at a party, leave no trace!
You will be a better person for it.
What I’m listening to:
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