Another AWESOME Burning Flipside is behind us. While analysis is still going on, I thought I’d give a preliminary update on how event LNT and post event restoration actions went.
In a nutshell – The participants did outstanding! It was a great year for LNT!
Post event restoration can be broken down into three main jobs; Infrastructure removal, MOOP Patrols, and Burn Scar clean up. On the Saturday post event, we had 47 people show up at Apache Pastures and an unknown number show up at the warehouse to assist in these volunteering opportunities. Additionally, during the event we had volunteers for Earth Guardians and Exodus participating in the LNT effort.
Infrastructure removal – This is loading all the AAR gear (safety equipment, signage, tools, playatech, etc.) and some of the art projects onto box trucks and returning it to the warehouse. While hot and tiring work, the various leads stacked their areas well and due to some pre-staging/work done on the Monday/Tuesday prior, it went quickly. The first, of the trucks left the land at approximately 1:15pm. So even including a break for pizza and ice cream, the job on-site was well along the way in about three hours. I do not know when the last truck was completely unpacked at the warehouse because by the time I got there at around 6pm it was all done. Super job!
MOOP Sweeps – This is where volunteers walk the entire land in close knit lines looking for any missed MOOP. They will then mark the location responsible and later produce a comprehensive map of offenders. While we could have used more people here to ensure better land coverage the team was able to do a pretty good pass over the complete property. The MOOPers that we had walked in pairs or triple, or foursome. In some cases, these small team sampled shaded areas and obvious camp spots. When a specific location got documented and found its way to the MOOP Map, it was because that location had multiple instances of MOOP or was especially grievous MOOP. From my viewpoint, I do not suspect as many findings we have seen in some past years. This can be directly attributed to the participants faithfully ensuring their sites were cleaned before leaving the land. Good deal keep it up and let’s hope for an even better next year.
Burn Scar – This is where all the metal and ash from the effigy burn is removed from the burn site. Several members of DaFT and some other helpful volunteers joined in to get extremely dirty shoveling up every piece of ash they could. Additionally, magnetic rakes were used to get all the metal off the ground. Lastly any trenches or holes created were filed in. I am happy to say once done, this was one of the cleanest scars I’ve seen.
I also want to mention that in additional to the effigy scar there were three additional smaller burn scars created by four participant driven burn projects. These were all well cleaned up before the event ended. I am extremely pleased with how the artists took care of their areas so the restoration crew was not left holding the bag (of ash – literally). I’d gladly sign off on them burning again, from a restoration standpoint.
Exodus – Exodus occurs on Monday, but it is considered a post event activity. Exodus went for the most part very smoothly with the overwhelming majority of the participants off the land well in advance of the 5pm deadline. The Exodus crews performed admirably and were assisted by other department’s volunteers as needed. Again, during this time, many of the other departments took time to break down their areas and prepare gear for transport back to the warehouse.
Earth Guardians – Did a good job getting the message out, loved the sign by the crossroads, and I believe were a great contributing factor to why I felt there was less MOOP during the event than I’ve seen previously.
Lastly Recycling – We did not have recycling this year. I am glad to report that no one forgot about this and left recycling at the non-existent station. The lack of a recycling station did not seem to cause any great distress, or at least no major complaints got back to me. However, I also don’t know if any camps sorted their own materials.
In summary, overall it was a real good year for LNT. Even during the event, I did not see a lot of MOOP. Great job participants and a special personal shout out to all the Sign Off Leads and Volunteers! – wrinn
There’s lots going on over at the KFLiP Radio Ranch! 20 years of the light and the dark is all well and good, but
Last Call for DisInfo
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