Happy Earth Week! The Winnipeg Folk Festival is so proud to keep it green not only at our summer Festival but also year-round at our offices and events. We work hard to keep our environmental footprint as small as possible and that remains a major goal for our organization. In 2023, with the help of our incredible enviro crews we made some big strides towards our sustainability efforts. Keep reading to learn more!
Awards
We are thrilled to announce that we were recognized for our commitment to sustainable tourism at the 2023 Tourism Awards for Winnipeg and Manitoba. We want to acknowledge our incredible production team for their dedication and care working towards these initiatives and implementing these strategies annually. Our gratitude also extends to our exceptional enviro and tree hugger crews for their continuous work during Festival and throughout the year.Sustainable Tourism
This award is presented to an organization, tourism business, facility, event or attraction that demonstrates a commitment to economic, social and environmental sustainability and works to mitigate any harmful impact in these areas. The nominee meets the needs of visitors now, while actively protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future.
Photo: April Carandang
The 2023 Festival
For the 2023 Festival our focus was increasing landfill diversion and reducing overall waste per attendee. In 2022, we grappled with pandemic-related challenges, including reduced crew sizes which led to unstaffed waste stations. However, last year, we were thrilled to implement new initiatives and revive previous ones to help us reach our goals.
- Compost Flags: We invested in new green compost flags to increase compost collection visibility across the Festival Site.
- Staffed Waste Stations: Our Site Enviro team was back to staffing waste stations, ensuring audience members could make the right disposal decisions!
- Compost Winnipeg Partnership: We partnered with Compost Winnipeg to provide green rolling bins and graphic signage for our compost collection across the Festival site and at the food vendor area in the campground.
Waste Diversion
Waste diversion or landfill diversion is the process of diverting waste from landfills.
Breakdown
Waste diversion rate comparison over the last three Festivals for both the Festival site and Festival Campground. Including recycling and compost.
Results
How YOU Can Help
LEAVE NO TRACE
Remember: what you bring in, you take out! Dispose of waste in the right bins. Our industrial composting service handles meat, bones, and dairy. Find recycling bins all over the Festival site and Campground. Grab recycling bags on load-in day or during the Festival. Let’s keep it green together!
REMOVE YOUR ROPES
If you’re hanging any tarps or hammocks over the weekend be sure to remove all rope from the trees. Rope left wrapped around trunks or branches can kill the tree. Please also be aware of the small trees that aren’t strong enough to support any weight!
SAVE THE LAGOON
Porta-potty waste goes to the park lagoon to break down organically, but plastics and other trash harm the environment. Keep the park clean: toss ALL non-organic waste like menstrual products, diapers, and cigarette butts in the right bins. Let’s protect our green spaces together!
BRING A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE
For over 10 years our Festival has been water bottle free to help shrink our eco-footprint. Bring your own bottles and fill ’em up at our taps! Look for tall blue flags across the site and campground. It’s our way of ridding landfills of tons of plastic waste and emissions. Cheers to hydration without hurting the planet!
LEAVE THE GLASS AT HOME
This especially applies to campers! Glass is a prohibited item at the Festival and is subject to confiscation at the Festival gate or in the campgrounds. Glass can get shattered and become a hazard for your fellow folkies.
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