Leave No Trace & Green Plan, 1001 Nights

History, background: 

Since 2015, at 1001 Nights, we believe in togetherness and generosity, and our core values revolve around sociability and creating strong connections with each other.

Our purpose is to create a haven for nomadic burners under our Dome, our Sanctuary. Such as in the tales of 1001 Nights, every year, our camp becomes alive by magic. For one week, we invite everyone to be a part of this enchanting experience by joining us and partaking in the traditional offerings we provide under our Dome, creating a space where all come together to celebrate life and create unforgettable memories.

Estimated Population: 75

Nature and scale of our activities: 

We host two parties during the week which typically peak around 500 participants.  

Our first party has been organized organically by our camp members ever since our first burn in 2015. Our DJs create their own line up and play all day, attracting their friends from other camps and curious passersby. 

In 2023, our second big event was a coordinated effort with other friends’ camps, where DJs from all over the world were invited to play and link up with an art car. This party was the one which attracted the most visitors and the art car went on to continue throughout the night in deep playa.

We host a variety of small-scale events during the week under our Dome: poetry recitation and dance performances, yoga, meditation, body and mind workshops with massages and face masks, past life drawing workshops, henna tattoo sessions…

Our flagship project “Makateeb” stems from the Arabic word “Maktoob” which means “written”. It is a symbol of the traditional communication method of hand-written letters. Burners from all corners of the globe gather in our Dome to write letters to other Burners in exchange for a letter from another mysterious Burner. These letters are not specific to anyone and are submitted anonymously.

For campers, we have a kitchen in which we cook communal breakfasts and dinners each day; burners are welcomed to join and share a meal with us. We also have an elaborate camper shading area and build a couple showers with our own gray water tanks.

As a camp we will:

  • Plan Ahead and optimize the tear down, plan to leave no trace behind
  • Practice the 6 R’s: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Restore, and Respect
  • Have regular mooping sessions before, during and after the event
  • Adopt and share with the camp the principles and practices of Leave No Trace (https://burningman.org/event/preparation/leaving-no-trace/) at Burning Man to minimize the impact on the playa
  • Do what is necessary to protect and restore the Black Rock Desert
  • Identify potential problems and issues that may arise

What is our Leave No Trace & Green Plan:

Leave No Trace (LNT) is a set of principles grounded in the philosophy of minimizing human impact on the environment. The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace (LNT) serve as guidelines for individuals to respect and practice in order to mitigate their ecological footprint.

Burning Man embraces Leave No Trace (LNT) as one of its core 10 principles, with specific rules and practices tailored to the unique environment of the Black Rock Desert. A key concept within LNT at Burning Man is MOOP, an acronym for Matter Out of Place. MOOP at Burning Man encompasses anything that doesn’t naturally belong to the Black Rock Desert. 

As a camp and as individuals, our responsibility is to leave the place as we found it or even better. This involves removing all such items, including greywater and its particulates, as part of our Leave No Trace efforts.

The Green Plan defines the actions and measures we implement to align with the expectations of the Burning Man Project 2030 Environmental Sustainability Roadmap. It primarily focuses on reducing our carbon footprint which includes initiatives such as lowering water consumption, minimizing plastic purchases, and enhancing energy efficiency.

How we will organize for Leave No Trace:

Our Leave No Trace (LNT) leadership and team structure:

Each year, a designated LNT Lead will be chosen from experienced 1001 Nights members through a selection process. Only experienced returning members are eligible for this role. Depending on camp size and setup, one or two LNT assistants may be dedicated contributors to assist the LNT Lead. Throughout the week, a team of volunteers will be responsible for MOOP and LNT tasks assigned by the LNT Lead.

The LNT lead, chosen through our selection process, will be designated as our Ambassador to the Black Rock Desert and leader of our LNT & Green Team.

The LNT lead will be responsible for:

  • Establishing LNT policies and practices for our camp in accordance with the Leave No Trace (LNT) rules of Burning Man
  • Implementing a Green Plan for our camp aligned with the sustainability goals outlined in the Burning Man Project’s 2030 roadmap, and regularly reporting our progress to both our community and the Burning Man Project
  • Ensuring all campers understand and agree with these LNT policies and practices, and facilitating their ability to act as LNT team volunteers at all times
  • Instilling the understanding of the 6 Rs (Respect, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Restore) within our camp and campers
  • Collaborating with all leads, with a special emphasis on the Strike lead, to plan MOOP schedules and playa restoration activities
  • Overseeing and approving purchase requests from other leads, ensuring they align with our sustainability goals
  • Collaborating with the power lead and coordinator lead to plan power and water consumption
  • Overseeing camp breakdown and cleanup in collaboration with the Strike lead
  • Ensuring that everything left is packed up and goes with us, maintaining a green status on the MOOP map, or designating a responsible captain
  • Encouraging camp participation in community line sweeps and restoration activities with our neighbors and DPW
  • Scheduling to visit one LNT/Green Model Camp Tour on Playa

The LNT & Green Team is responsible for:

  • Ensuring all campers understand and endorse our Leave No Trace policies, actively participating as members of the LNT team throughout the event
  • Assisting in the planning of our purchases and determining items brought to the playa
  • Encouraging the camp and campers to adopt practices of reusing, recycling, reducing, and restoring our materials
  • Maintaining the cleanliness of our camp before, during, and after the event, while delegating and enlisting help when needed
  • Managing cleanup and trash disposal in our camp, including during activities and parties we host
  • Ensuring our gray water tanker isn’t leaking and has no impact on the playa
  • Overseeing daily tasks and executing the cleaning and playa restoration plan as we prepare to leave
  • Encouraging active participation in community line sweeps and restoration initiatives with our neighbors and DPW

Our Commitment to Leave No Trace (LNT)

To minimize our impact on the Playa, we will follow these rules:

Before the event

  • We pledge to practice LNT in and around our campsite, managing both our waste and that of others
  • We will thoroughly read the survival guide and LNT tips to ensure a full understanding of the principles
  • We will actively develop this LNT Plan as the cornerstone of our rules and practices in adherence to the Burning Man LNT principle, ensuring its distribution among our campers for awareness
  • We will carefully plan the assembly and takedown of our structures and decorations to prevent small parts from falling to the ground or flying away and turning into MOOPs
  • We will assign logistics activities to several dedicated teams
  • We will unpack and remove packaging for all items and store them in reusable containers
  • We will establish our meal plan to minimize food waste
  • We will refrain from bringing breakable items (no glass, no cheap trinkets…) or potential MOOP materials (no small feathers, no glitters…) that might be left on the playa

During the event

  • We will check our camp daily
  • We will clean as we go, realizing that any trash or MOOP (matter out of place) can blow away or be buried at any moment
  • We will keep our recyclables, burnables, and non-burnables clearly separated for easy disposal
  • We will recycle our aluminum, either on-site or back home
  • We will have special cleanup crews for any high traffic activities we host and take care of any trash left by guests, invited or otherwise
  • We will burn only clean untreated wood or paper (nothing synthetic) and follow the safety guidelines for fires and burn scar prevention
  • We won’t dig large holes or trenches
  • We will keep all items tied or weighted down, and leave papers at home
  • We will not dump any gray or black water on the playa
  • We will encourage our campers to carry a personal trash (MOOP) container and a cigarette butt container when they are outside camp

After the event

  • We will put aside time and have designated volunteers for the final cleanup
  • We will take all trash in sealed containers to a landfill and recyclables to a recycle center on the way home
  • After cleaning our camp, everyone in our camp will devote at least two hours to the general city cleanup (e.g. trash fence, local port-o-potties, café, …)
  • We will leave extra space in every vehicle on the way to the desert, knowing that repacking will inevitably take up more space and ensure that no items can detach during the ride home
  • We will pack out everything, including any unevaporated gray water and scum
  • We will help out our neighbors and fellow citizens
  • We will be good neighbors
  • We will encourage our guests to bring their own beverage containers
  • We will help out our neighbors
  • We will help careless or forgetful campers

Here’s how we’ll do it

Inform and challenge our campers about LNT to green their burn

As part of our communication and integration process with our campers (via newsletter, website, etc.), we will ask our campers to familiarize themselves with the following resources:

Our onboarding process will include a questionnaire designed to assess selected campers’ knowledge of these topics. This approach allows us to constantly assess their level of skills and knowledge, enabling us to launch more in-depth information campaigns if necessary.

Design our camp in a way that is easy to keep clean:

We will set up tarps on the floor to protect key areas subject to MOOP, such as the kitchen, showers, dome and bar, making it easier to clean these spaces.

We will design a specific plan to identify the location of the lag screws, marking them to ensure exhaustive counting and subsequent removal at the end, when we have to leave.

We will spread across the different areas (camping, dome, kitchen, showers) so that it is easy to navigate between and MOOP continuously throughout the event.

Select materials and decorations for our camp that lessen waste and are recyclable or reusable:

We reuse our materials, infrastructures and decorations year after year since our inception.

Our infrastructure and decorations are entirely reusable, allowing us to assemble the decoration and dome cover differently each year. For example, the dome cover is made from triangular fabrics that we reuse, allowing us to change the geometric patterns and create a renewed and unique experience.
We will eliminate our MOOP-generating decorations by making a donation to a person or organization in the default world.

Have a plan for proper reduction, evaporation or disposal of our gray water, including containers to haul out what’s left:

We have two gray water tanks that efficiently capture our gray water without leakage. To ensure a smooth gray water disposal process and avoid any leakage problems, we will continue to use the Outside Service (OSS) Program to pump out our gray water at the end of the event.

We will encourage every member to reduce their gray water production by

  • Shorter their showers to minimize the amount of water used
  • Opt for scraping dishes practices instead of pre-rinsing before washing, or for an even more sustainable approach, consider using a vinegar rinse process

Plan for extra cleanup and trash generated by activities and parties at our camp:

We will schedule regular MOOPing shifts using MOOP sweeps techniques to keep our camp clean throughout the event, strategically focusing on a daily basis around the kitchen area, after main events around the dome and bar, and covering the camping area and showers, including checking for potential leaks. These activities will be executed with care during and towards the end.

Our Commitment to Greening Black Rock City

To ensure that Burning Man is sustainable, we will:

Respect – We will make choices regarding our camp respecting the environment and other residents of Black Rock City

  • We will carpool to Burning Man as much as possible
  • We will consider our choices rat we’ll do while we’re there
  • We will respect others and give them our hearts, our hands and our help
  • We will take home only what we brought, our memories, new friends and photos

Rethink – We will rethink what we need to survive and thrive

  • We will consider what items we really enjoyed having last year
  • We will not bring items that we didn’t use last year

Reduce – We will ask if we need to bring everything that we did last year?

  • We will reconsider bringing that extra thing
  • We can probably survive and even thrive without it
  • We will reduce our energy use and consider alternative sources of energy like solar, wind and biofuels
  • We will consider living lighter on the playa

Reuse – We will determine what we use year after year

  • We will bring reusable water jugs
  • We will repurpose, reconfigure and redecorate our basic camp structure

Recycle – We will bring

  • aluminum cans for recycling in collaboration with Recycle Camp
  • equipment to compost on playa in collaboration with IDEATE

Restore – We will leave the playa the profoundly barren and empty corner of the world that it is

  • We will leave positive traces on the environment
  • We will purchase carbon offsets from cooling man to offset our carbon emissions
  • We will encourage purchase carbon offsets from cooling man to offset our carbon emissions 

Here’s how we’ll do it:

Energy

Plan to reduce energy use and incorporate energy efficient practices:

In 2023, we fully transitioned to LED lighting to reduce our energy consumption and environmental impact. We have stored these LEDs and plan to reuse them year after year. Any new lighting additions will only be acceptable if they are LED lighting.

We encourage low energy cooling systems such as air coolers and humidifiers instead of air conditioners. This switch will significantly lower the energy consumption of the camp, and lower the emissions of GHG emissions. We encourage campers to not use any AC.

We thoughtfully chose the dinner menu for the week, considering its low energy requirements. Additionally, we encourage camp members to prepare breakfast together for efficiency, minimizing gas usage during cooking. Furthermore, we prioritize a vegetarian dinner menu to reduce the overall environmental impact of our camp

Plan to use alternative energy sources energies (human, solar, wind, biodiesel) and/or offset carbon emissions associated with transportation and energy (generators):

We will continuously assess the option of transitioning from fossil energy sources to a more sustainable solution, aiming for zero emissions in our energy consumption.

We will evaluate the total CO2 emissions of our campers’ logistics, including transportation to and from the playa, as well as the camp’s fossil fuel consumption, and offset them through a nature projection and reforestation project.

We will illuminate our camp with energy efficient light bulbs, LED’s or EL wire:

Our entire camp is illuminated with LED only since 2023

Materials:

Select materials and decorations for our camp that lessen waste and are recyclable or reusable: We reuse our materials, infrastructures and decorations year after year since our inception.

All this infrastructure is stored into two containers managed by Burning Man Storage Project locally at Gerlach during the offseason. 

Our entire materials, infrastructures, and decorations are inventoried including our dome, shade structures, kitchen equipment, tools, decorations, lightning, electric cables and we replace items only when it is needed. When we make new purchases, our LNT lead and Equipment lead looks for durable items that we can use year after year.

Campers use reusable plates and flatware during meals.

Plan to use nontoxic, biodegradable, and salvageable materials: 

We will utilize non-toxic, biodegradable, and salvageable materials for our kitchen dishwashing process. Furthermore, we encourage our campers to use vinegar in this process, as it is a completely natural product for sanitization, contributing to a reduction in soap consumption.

Waste

Plan to salvaging, reusing, and/or recycling everything onsite, including camp construction and demolition waste: We reuse our materials, infrastructures and decorations year after year since our inception. Building and striking our camp results in very limited waste.

In the event that we have to part with an item that is still usable, we will donate it to another camp or to a person or organization in the default world if it does not find a buyer.

Our Equipment lead and LNT lead coordinate purchases related to waste management, including (colored) trash bags to help separate recycling and other waste. We reuse our heavy-duty garbage bins to provide different bins with specific signage for waste sorting during the event. These bins will be designated for plastic waste, paper/cardboard waste, biowaste, aluminum cans, and metals.

We rent a container of potable water to the Outside Service (OSS) Program to reduce our plastic waste.

We review our meal plan to reduce food waste and we compost our food waste in collaboration with IDEATE.

We inform our members to prefer aluminum cans to be able to recycle them at Recycle Camp.

We take all other recyclable materials to properly dispose in Reno after the Burn.

We will encourage campers to use and bring low-waste items, and request that they unpack and remove packaging before heading to the playa.

Community Service

Participate in outreach to other theme camps and display our green technologies to other camps via the LNT/Green Model Camp Tour or green science exploratorium? You can participate as a model camp or visit camps and learn about how to improve your camp for next year:

Each year, the LNT Lead will collaborate with a group of interested campers to participate as visitors in one LNT/Green Model Camp Tour. This experience will enable us to learn new tips and techniques that we can experiment with to enhance the sustainability of our camp.

Coordinate with other camps to use alternative fuels to power a electric charging stations set up (for other people/camps who need a battery charged):

We will strive to collaborate with other camps to join forces and share a sustainable energy solution that meets our needs.

Playa Restoration

Create a detailed plan for the breakdown/cleanup of our camp, accounting for every board, stake, and scrap, and pack necessary tools and supplies:

Off Playa Operations:

A Strike lead will be designated each year with the responsibility of ensuring a smooth breakdown that includes

  • Working closely with the LNT lead to define the LNT rule and process for the dismantle
  • Working closely with the equipment lead and LNT lead to ensure all restoration materials will be available and inventories all of these restoration item
  • Working closely with the equipment lead to ensure all materials/infrastructure will fit into our container managed by BM Storage Project
  • Working closely with the build lead to build a secured trash area
  • Organize a dedicated Playa Restoration Crew staying a bit longer after main parts of our camp leave the Black Rock Desert for restoration purposes and who will act as a contingency team in the event of force majeure
  • Documenting the camp dismantle timeline, schedule and process as a checklist or step-by-step guide that can be easily communicated to all team members:
    • When and where team members should gather
    • How to prepare the area to dismantle
    • What to dismantle/pack and how 
    • When, where and how to MOOP
    • How to restore the playa (dune, burn scars, hole…)
  • Planning transportation of our trash to Reno at the end of the event
  • Remind our campers (aside from those on the Burner Express) to plan to take one bag of trash to carry Off Playa, and any remaining trash + recycle waste will be transported into one dedicated truck.

Camp Dismantle Protocol:

Pre-Dismantle:

    1. Conduct a thorough MOOP sweep of our camp with all campers before initiating the dismantle protocol
    2. Prepare our container for packing

Dismantling Areas: Start dismantling each area in the following order: 

  1. Dome Area
  2. Bar Area
  3. Camping Area
  4. Shower Area
  5. Kitchen Area
  6. Fuel Security Area
  7. Trash Area

Dismantling Procedure: Each area will have its own dismantle protocol, but globally proceed as follows: 

  1. Prepare a temporary area outside the dismantle zone to store dismantled parts until arranged in our container following the storage order
  2. Remove parts of the infrastructure, with small components securely stored in boxes to protect them from windstorms
  3. MOOP sweep on the dismantle zone

Simultaneous Actions:Simultaneously with the dismantling of our camp zone, package the materials and place them in our container according to the storage order

Post-Dismantle:

    1. Conduct a final MOOP sweep of our camp with all campers after completing the dismantle protocol (approximately Sunday afternoon or Monday morning)
    2. Campers leave with one trash bag each

Playa Restoration Crew:

    1. A specific Playa Restoration Crew begins their work after everyone leaves the camp (approximately on Monday morning after the event)
    2. The Playa Restoration Crew stays potentially until Wednesday in case of a force majeure event to MOOP and Restore our camp

The sole responsibility of our Playa Restoration Crew is to restore our camp after everyone leaves.

Playa Restoration Crew members are not responsible for packing everything into our containers at the end or managing the entire camp’s trash. This is the joint responsibility of each camper to conclude the dismantle together, completing a final MOOP sweep of our camp, and taking one trash bag with them.

Plan enough space and storage in our vehicles for trash hauling:

We will have one trash bag per camper and a vehicle dedicated to transport the remaining trash at the end of the event. 

Explain the ground rules to all camp members and post our LNT plan on our website: We will publish our LNT Plan on our website : www.1001-nights.org

We will bring the following items for camp operations

  • Separate, sealed containers for recyclables, burnables, and non-burnables, a found bin and signage and tags
  • Reusable dinnerware and utensils, including a portable beverage container and coffee cup for the Café
  • A large water container for camp water supplies (no small containers)
  • 5-gallon bucket and painter’s mesh for wet kitchen scraps
  • Containers for gray water disposal
  • Containers for smokers’ butts
  • Tarps or other floor covering to ‘catch’ any items that drop

We will bring the following items for our camp’s breakdown, clean-up and restoration

  • Big whiskbroom and push brooms
  • Flat blade shovel for burn scars or dune MOOP
  • Large landscape rake and smaller sand rakes for sweeping through dust piles
  • Stiff long handled broom for breaking up dunes
  • Rope and string for tying loose stuff down
  • Small spare bags for collecting trash as we wander
  • Lots of industrial strength trash bags: more than we think we will need
  • Long-handled sledgehammer for compacting 5-gallon buckets and driving stakes
  • Vise grips for removing stakes and rebar
  • Directions and hours of landfills and RV water dump stations
  • Magnets or magnet sweepers to remove every last nails, staples, scrap of metal
  • Vehicles and/or trailers to haul everything out

Packing Out and Restoration of Our Site

  • We will take away everything we brought with us plus a few things we didn’t know we’d have
  • Our restoration team will use cones on the outside of our camp’s border to define our boundaries, break up any dunes that formed around vehicles or structures, then divide up our area and begin line sweeps
  • If we don’t have enough folks on our team to form one line across the site, we will break our space up into smaller areas and have each restoration volunteer to MOOP their area
  • We complete restoration of any hotspots (micro-MOOP collections)

Black Rock Desert Restoration

  • We will each contribute at least 2 hours of community clean-up on our street 
  • We will pitch in with our fellow citizens and community service teams to restore the natural characteristics of the playa in our neighborhood, removing all burn scars, dunes, leftover debris, or other physical traces of our presence
  • We will encourage our campers to volunteer for and support ecological protection and restoration of the Black Rock Desert
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