DO YOU HAVE A CAMPING BUDDY?
A new solution to reduce waste at Australian music festivals this summer has been launched with Camping Buddy set to help music fans tackle a major source of landfill waste at our many camping festival events. Green Music Australia in partnership with QUT has proudly launched its innovative festival waste reduction tool. Camping Buddy is a free web app that will allow music fans to build an interactive packing checklist with their camping group, which it is hoped will encourage festival attendees to plan ahead so they make smarter packing decisions and reduce unnecessary landfill.
The tool was launched ahead of the Strawberry Fields Music Festival last month, with attendees able to find recommendations for equipment hire and custom sustainability tips to improve their festival experience. Camping Buddy can be used by anyone to plan their upcoming campsite, with tips and messages available for users attending partnered festivals including Splendour in the Grass and Lost Paradise.
Waste is a major problem at all music festivals and research commissioned by Green Music Australia found 50-80% of waste generated at music festivals comes directly from campsites with cheap broken tents and gazebos being a primary cause of littering, linked to rushed or ill-informed purchasing decisions and inexperience camping in the rain and high winds. With event organisers already facing adverse impacts from the climate crisis and extreme weather events, many are looking for ways to improve their environmental performance and encourage their audiences to care for the Country.
“Festival camping is such an important part of youth culture, but combine that consumerism, bad weather, massive campsites, social proof, and many more factors, and you have a massive waste problem. ”
— DR KELLIE VELLA, QUT, RESEARCH FELLOW,
Funded by the NSW Environmental Trust, the idea for Camping Buddy came during 4years of research and an IT creation project grant which saw Green Music Australia and Queensland University of Technology join forces to tackle the challenge of “How can we use technology to battle the nationwide problem of festival campsite litter?”
Through their research and findings from official partners EPA NSW, Byron Shire Council, Mullum Cares, Strawberry Fields Music Festival, Lost Paradise, Splendour in the Grass as well as wider festival sector input from the Party With The Planet festival alliance, Camping Buddy was created in close collaboration with the involved parties to improve waste outcomes and make camping planning easier for fans.
Camping Buddy creators believe the App will be an effective helping hand for festival-goers to plan, with the result being a reduction of waste while also providing weather updates and promoting festival hire services, amongst other features.
Lost Paradise Marketing Director Lucy Blanshard says:
Our team works hard to employ a comprehensive range of environmental measures designed to maintain the land, animals, flora and fauna that inhabit the Lost Paradise site. As festival organisers, we can do a lot, but it’s crucial to ensure that our attendees have the knowledge and tools to play their part in leaving no trace. Camping Buddy provides exactly that; ensuring that attendees are well-equipped to make sustainable choices in the lead-up, during and as they depart the land on which they celebrate.
Strawberry Fields Director, Tara Medina says:
Sustainability is a core focus for Strawberry and we pride ourselves on being early adopters and champions of new initiatives that promote overall waste minimisation whilst empowering our patrons to make greener choices. Camping Buddy gets our vote as a mechanism to help attendees to plan, pack and party with sustainability in mind.
Splendour In The Grass General Manager Jade Skelly says:
Sustainability is a key pillar of Splendour in the Grass. We are deeply committed to our land and community, being leaders and great supporters in this space through numerous environmental initiatives and projects. We continue this support with Camping Buddy where we hope to further the efforts of reducing waste in festival campgrounds and educating the broader festival audiences.
For further information contact Green Music Australia, Georgia Cooke, 0430 211 233
