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We know that the rest of the year, outside our wonderful week in the Glade, can be difficult. Where are those beautiful humans we met, why are strangers not open to hugs?

We have the solution for you – Burner Meetups! Here is a list of all the happenings we know about in February. If you have more to add, please let us know!

CAMP CRUMPET FUNDRAISERS

Camp Crumpet is an inclusive, mixed-used space for dancing, chilling and sexual play. It runs every year at Burning Nest, and occasionally curates spaces at other events. It has fundraiser parties throughout the year in London and, coming up, possibly Bristol. Due to the nature of these events, you need to be registered with them to attend. If you’d like to come along, please head to their website and fill out the contact form.

THE FLAMIN’ MERKIN presents… 

The Flamin’ Merkin have been at pretty much every Burning Nest, they’ve just run the official Decom Afterparty and now they’re  putting on a winter daytime Burn-style event as a pre-season spectacular…

They’re returning with Margaritas, comfy spaces, smiling faces, bring-your-own-booze-and-food, booze-and-food-provided (including Margaritas), eclectic tunes, fire pits and marshmallows, interactive burner stuff to do, and, of course, Margaritas.

Date: Saturday 8th February
Time: 10am – 8pm

Click here to buy tickets and here to follow their updates on Facebook. 

BURNING MEETUPS

London Burning Pub is Thursday 20th Feb, and every 3rd Thursday of the month at The Miller Pub, London Bridge. Expect loads of newbies, great chat, good food and booze and an announcement, or two. 

Bristol Burners Assemble is back on Sunday 2nd February at the Volunteer Tavern. It’s a wonderful community in the South West and they’d love to have you along. Pop by if you have the chance. 

Burningham is your go-to group for anyone living in the Midlands. They had their first pub meetup on the 16th January and watch their Facebook group for more news and announcements. 

Cambridge Burners meet on the first Sunday of every month at The Blue Moon Pub and all updates will go through their Facebook Group. Their next meetup is on the 1st Feb. 

Thanks to everyone who got in touch to list your Burner events, fundraisers and meetups. If you’d like to be included in the next update post, drop us an email and we’re happy to oblige. 

Happy New Year and welcome to the future. It’s 2020 and that can only mean one thing… Nest is THIS year!

Isn’t that the only thing we’ve all be waiting to say?

No more putting things off till next year. We are 136 days from our Effigy Burn, our foot is on the accelerator, left hand hovering above the handbrake (if you excuse the carbon footprint-heavy analogy) and we wanted to get you as prepared as we are for our imminent membership sales. 

We have a few pertinent bits of information that we wanted to tell you about before the 19th January (and we all know what day that is, right?) as well as some fun stuff to look forward to in what is really just part one of our January update from the Nest HQ. We can only laden our Carrier Pigeon with so much news before its airspeed velocity falls below that of even a European migratory swallow and it is for this reason we’ve split our news into two parts.

You’ll thank us later.

Part Two will give details on loads of exciting things including Theme Announcement, Art Grants, Temple & Effigy Applications and Membership Releases.

We’ll be continuing our journey from Burner Bio creation, to registration and onward to a field, so if you happened to miss our very first Carrier Pigeon, (some landed in spam: ‘Naughty Pigeons’) you can catch up with it here. 

But for now, let us begin this textual journey through the last vestiges of pre-membership release prep..

MEMBERSHIP INFO
SITE VISIT
COMMUNITY MEETING DATES
CORE TEAM ROLES
OTHER FUN STUFF

MEMBERSHIP INFO

 Well done for registering! You’re all set to purchase a membership for this year’s Nest.

You haven’t created a bio? No worries, all the info pertaining to this part of the Membership process was written about in last month’s newsletter, (It’s also in the Membership section of the Nest website) so scroll up, click on the link to last month’s news and  check it all out. We’ll be waiting for you right here…

We wanted to let you know about a decision we’ve taken, with great care and consideration for the whole community. For the past few years we’ve kept Membership prices the same but this year we need to raise them a teeny tiny bit, which amounts to just twenty of your ‘great’ English pounds. So what does this extra £20 mean to us? Well, firstly, we can fund more ARTS! Yay! More art at Nest means inspiring more creativity and gives us more to appreciate while we’re there. ‘Where else does this money go?’, I hear you ask, well, it enables us to buy more structures, invest in Leave a Better Trace projects like compost loos, improve our storage and a few other projects we still have in the works. But most of all, all this extra comes back to you in one way or another, so you can feel the warm glow inside knowing those extra pounds have been multiplied and made Nest that little bit better this year…

Memberships will be on sale in two waves and we expect them to go FAST. 

Wave 1 will be on sale on Sunday 19th January at 11am and there are 200 available. 

Wave 2 is currently planned for Sunday 15th March at 11am which will take care of the rest.

Don’t dilly dally and make sure you have your itchy trigger fingers ready as the clock strikes 11…

There are a whole bunch of other types of Memberships available, which we’ve collectively called Inclusion Memberships. These include Low Income, Very Low Income, Carer and Family Memberships and you can find out more about them on the relevant page on our website.

To apply for any of these, all you need to do is fill out the form linked below and you’ll have your decision before the 2nd wave of memberships are released. 

If you have any questions about Inclusion Memberships please email memberships@burningnest.co.uk

If you’re one of the lucky few who are able to drive to Nest, please note we’re re-introducing vehicle passes, cos of the environment, innit. All monies we collect will go directly into ‘Leave a Better Trace’ projects. These will be priced at £10 per vehicle staying on site and there will be no exceptions*

*If you feel that your case warrants exception, please do send us an email, but remember, for every £10 that doesn’t go towards Leave a Better Trace projects, another school of fish dies

SITE VISIT

Weekend of 22nd/23rd February Do you have a burning desire to head to the Nest site to ensure that your idea becomes a reality? Want to be part of the circle of decision-makers and help shape the future of our Burn? Well, the site visit might just be for you…

Let us know you’re keen by dropping an email to comms@burningnest.co.uk

COMMUNITY MEETING

Sunday 2nd February, afternoon

Our first Community Meeting of the year gives us all a chance to find out what’s being planned for Nest, to meet the many new faces adorning our Circles and to get involved in discussions and come up with solutions face to face. 

This is a amazing chance to have your say in our community and it would be wonderful to see all your beautiful and enthusiastic selves there. 

We wanted to let you know early so you can keep the date free. More details will follow soon…

CORE TEAM ROLES

Fancy joining us in making Nest happen? We have some amazing opportunities for you…

In our age of newfound terminology we’ve made some changes to the way we refer to ourselves. Circles and Links have replaced Teams and Leads, cos it’s more fun building a Nest when you can throw some shapes. 
We’re looking to shore up our links and get some value from pie in our circles and well, what I’m really trying to say is we need some of you to step up and get fully involved with these amazing roles that are yet to be filled for our upcoming Nest. All we’re looking for from you is passion, time and a willingness to learn. 

In no particular order…

ARTS

Arts: Programme
Includes collecting information from the community about events, art and theme camps, and creating or managing the visual design of the programme in accordance with the theme.

Arts: Temple/Effigy
Manage applications for temple and effigy, project manage teams, liaise with DPW on placement and health & safety, and coordinate pre-burn fire shows.

Arts: The Point 
Embrace or reimagine The Point (formerly known as Centre Camp). Liaise with rest of the team to organise physical structure and placement, as well as organise it as a community space, info resource, and location for events.

COMMUNITY

Community: Co-Link
Encouraging year-round community involvement through theme camps and other events, and overseeing camp registration process, as well as working with DPW on camp placement. Securing venues for all other events and ensuring all aspects of the Post-Nest Picnic are planned and permitted in advance. Also managing the Greeters Department. 

Community: Accessibility
Ensuring appropriate arrangements for accessibility, inclusion and wellbeing at Nest.

CAT WRANGLING

Cat Wrangling / Volunteering: Support
Supporting the Cat Wrangling link, whose roles include link role recruitment, recruitment of volunteers, fnugging, info booth and more.

Cat Wrangling / Volunteering: Fnugging Department
Supporting volunteers with good cheer, care, and refreshments during build, event and strike.

Cat Wrangling / Volunteering: Info Booth
Infrastructure, design, organisation, set up and strike of the info booth at The Point.

Event Square: Procurement
Working with the finance link to facilitate and centralise procurement for the event.

If you’re interested in any of these roles, please email Clint at  vols@burningnest.co.uk

Welcome back, Nestlings! To what might be our last newsletter of 2019… and the first under our new name, The Carrier Pigeon!

Check out the latest Carrier Pigeon for information on 2020 dates, membership sales and much more besides!

If you’re not subscribed, you can also do that from this page – we recommend subscribing to keep up to date with all the latest news.

Until next time x

De-de-der derr-der-derr-de-derrrr!

Waaaah. It’s all too much. Too much to think about and prepare!! Let us help you.

At this point in the proceedings, there are two key things: What to bring, and where to hang out when you get there! That’s what this Nest News is all about.

Contents for this week 

• Preparation
• Cabin.com

Planning & Preparation

Big piece of prep for Burning is always what to bring. Invariably, we must pack out what we pack in, however we do that. Here’s some advice from our LNT Lead, Stacy:

Leave No Trace (LNT) is one of the core principles of every Burn event. We each take personal responsibility for our impact and true LNT means that Burners leave only foot prints, for the long-term survival of our event and both the immediate and wider environment.

LNT starts with what we bring and how we get there, but intrinsically is about how we behave on site and beyond. We don’t leave MOOP – or Matter Out Of Place. Anything that isn’t in your tent or attached to you can be considered MOOP.  Our LNT team has some top tips for reducing your impact before, during and after Nest.

Planning
Make travel as sustainable as possible by taking public transport, organising a coach, ride-sharing, or even cycling to and from the site! You could even meet some Nestlings en route and make new friends!

Remove all excess packaging from everything you buy (food, supplies, tools) before you pack it. Reducing packaging is one of the best ways to avoid MOOP at Nest. Compostable containers are better; re-usable containers are best. You will be expected to take any excessive amounts of rubbish home with you. You absolutely must not dump it when you leave the site.

WHAT TO BRING
Bin bags, your own cup and bowl, portable ashtrays. Ensure you pack bin bags for trash and recycling and some way to get food waste to the compost zone. Bring your own cup and bowl: disposable cups, plates and cutlery are one of the biggest sources of trash at festivals. Burners make sure they always have an easy-to-carryreusable cup with them to use anywhere, anytime. Be responsible for your cup and keep with you for those surprise gift shots and margaritas! Cigarette butts are the most common MOOP item. Buy or make a portable ashtray (a mint tin, for instance) to collect your cigarette butts and ashes. Never, ever drop butts.

WHAT NOT TO BRING
Glitter in any format, feather boas or sequinned items – basically anything that can fall off your clothing. Burners love to be glittery, but these little pieces of plastic, almost impossible to recover in full, are the worst offenders of MOOP and contaminate the local environment. Even biodegradable glitter will last a few months on the ground, and we want the site to look like we weren’t there the day after the event. If you’re an experienced Burner, set an example for newer members and express your beautiful selves using paint, costumes, your words and actions.

At Nest
Do a daily MOOP sweep of your tent area. If you are with a theme camp, do a regular line sweep of your camp with your camp-mates making sure you cover the whole area, and picking up all MOOP. Nothing is too small. If it wasn’t there before you arrived, it must not be there when you leave (or at any time in between). In camping LNT, we call this “making your tent bomb-proof”!

Key rule is: Never let MOOP hit the ground. Clean as you go. MOOP attracts more MOOP. When you see trash on the ground, pick it up and take it with you. Be the change you wish to see! Encourage your co-participants to do the same. Don’t be afraid to let someone know they’ve dropped rubbish or used the wrong bin – we are all here to help each other.

LNT for Life
Consider your impact while at Nest, on the way home and in your default life. How can you change your actions to lower your carbon costs, reduce waste, compost more, and encourage others to do the same? Oooh. Deep.

If you have any questions or you want to volunteer, please contact your LNT Lead Stacy atLNT@burningnest.co.uk or fill out the volunteer form. Each theme camp must have an LNT liaison – and you must get in touch with Stacy asap, so don’t delay.

Room Service! 

So OMAFG, a HUGE number of Cabins/Camps have registered to come to Nest this year. Seriously we are all spoilt for choice. Because there are too many to tell you about on Nest News by the time Nest actually arrives, we will be doing a big overhaul of the Cabin Page on the website to fill you all in, so to speak. I know i promised this last week – it’s taking a while because there’s SO MUCH to share. Pls bear with.

Instead, here’s a teeny precis for some of them, just to whet your appetite…

The Kinema in the Woods
A lovely chilled space for people to experience a pre-millennial life-style when television only had three channels and VHS was considered an advanced technology, with a nice cup of tea and a biccie for anyone dropping by to chat … Remember those times? 

The Nest at the End of the Tunnel! 

Weeeellll, you can tell we’re merely weeks away, can’t you? [err, that’s 6 weeks, Siren, not 10 – J]. Everyone is getting super excited and all the facebook and engagement action going on is just making us all beside ourselves!!!

The number of New Nestlings (or Newlings, if you will!) is incredible and we’re all so looking forward to welcoming you all to our Glade!

So, a LOT to cover in this one. Pay close attention!

Contents for this week 

• Mini memberships (and others!)
• What?! Where… WHEN. 
• Cabin me on
• Write on Community Meeting 

We are Faaaammmilleeee!!! 

Did you know that with if you’re bringing your rug-rats to Nest that there are some super things we’ve put in place to help? Firstly, under 12s go free – YAY! However, they do still need a membership – mainly for head count, insurance and health and safety things. Please email our shrieking harpy of a families lead, Jackdaw, at family@burningnest.co.uk with the names and ages of your attending small ones. 

We also appreciate that the change in date for this year means some families are finding it a challenge to get there for the whole week. We are thinking there might be a good amount of families that would just like to come for the weekend. If this is you, please drop Jackdaw an email with your interest and we can look to releasing a special Weekend Family Membership to help! Don’t forget we have a whole HEAP of special access and supportive memberships available to help get yo ass to our Glade!

As for the rest of you, don’t forget we are CAPPING MEMBERSHIPS at 490. We will sell out. There are fewer than 120 left. If you don’t have one, well… what are you waiting for??!!

Eventing shout outs! 

You wanna bring some fabulous art, a mesmerising event or workshop, or have a great community project to share? We LOVE you for it!  If you’ve applied for a grant, we should have your details already, but for those who are doing this under their own funding, we still want to hear about YOU, so we can tell everyone else!

If you’re running an event, there is nothing to stop you running it under a tree, in your tent, on a grassy knoll or whatever part of our beautiful site calls to you. However, if you want a dedicated space, we recommend the following:

Details are being added to the Theme Cabin page of all the teams who have registered so far. You should contact those Cabins or Camps you think will best suit your workshop. For example, if it’s transcendental meditation, we recommend Panriavia over Camp Crumpet. You can also email programming@burningnest.co.ukfor help with identifying and facilitating a place that will work for you.

Another idea might be Centre Camp itself. Separating the theme camps from the open art space, Centre Camp provides standing room for up to 50 people. It’s completely covered and dry, including protection from wind, access to power and lighting as well as a stage for performances. You’re invited to make this a welcoming space with activities and workshops, performances, and your own presence and creative flair. Use of the space will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Again, email Programming to get a spot here.

When you have the go-ahead from your chosen space, make sure the programming team has all the details by 1 May to get into the ‘What, Where, When’ guide! And if you need a location for your art pieces, for the duration of Nest, please fill in the questionnaire ASAP for that and inclusion in the guide!

Cabinicious!!

Theme Cabin reggo opened a couple of weeks ago and we are quite overwhelmed by the amazing response. So far we have 10 cabins signed up and a few more to come.

The story so far:

• Intergalactic Häus of Mojo
• Camp Flim Flam
• The Kinema in the Woods
• Family Camp
• Les Sauvages
• Psychedelephant
• Cwtch
• One Foot in the Rave
• Panravia
• The Flamin’ Merkin

We’re updating the Theme Cabin page on the Nest Website over the next couple of days.

You can also find lots of info for each on the Facebook Group, so do head there to hook yourself up!

Community