Managing Local Wildlife and Biodiversity on Music Festival Sites.

Most open-air music festivals take place in countryside locations and farmland where the impact on local wildlife can be significant. What measures can music festival organisers take to manage and minimise the impact of their event on the local wildlife and environment to maintain biodiversity.

Despite festival organisers selecting what appear to be empty fields as venues for music festivals there can still be an impact on the local wildlife. Whether it’s waste water or noise the presence of human activity can upset the balance of wildlife that live on or close to the festival site year-round.

Charters and Policies. 
All music festival organisations now produce sustainability policies and charters that layout how they aim to make their events more environmentally friendly. These usually focus on reductions in carbon emissions, waste management and banning single use plastics for example. An often overlooked element is the impact a festival can have on local wildlife and biodiversity, but more organisers are now including this as a key policy with equal importance to other measures. 

Partnerships. 
The easiest way to implement a good biodiversity policy is to partner with organisations who have expertise regarding the wildlife and environment. Consulting a with a local not-for-profit can provide insight on the local wildlife and they can make recommendations that will minimise any impact of the event. In the UK there are numerous wildlife trusts who have access to expertise regarding a specific site. These charitable organisations focus on protecting habitats and nature reserves for animals and plants. Local exerts can provide organisers with advice on site layout and other measures that reduce any impact.

Removing Barriers to Maintaining Wildlife and Biodiversity. 
The impact of a music festival on the local wildlife is still a subject that requires more investigation and research. Aside from the obvious impact of on-site waste there are other factors like noise that may adversely affect animals. The biggest challenge for festival organisers is controlling what festival-goers do on site despite their best intentions. This can be tackled by providing key messages and reminders to all site visitors to respect the environment and protect the local wildlife and biodiversity. These messages can be reinforced by offering pitch spaces free of charge to local wildlife and forestry charities. They can then run educational workshops and provide key information to all festival-goers. It is also an opportunity for them to raise much needed funds from interested visitors.

Irrespective of the efforts made by festival organisers and local wildlife charities there will be some impact on the local wildlife and environment. By working closely with relevant partners organisers can ensure that any impact is minimised and that measure are put in place to educate site visitors and contribute to future protection.

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Photo by David Selbert via pexels

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