Environment

Environmental Goals

Soul Highway is committed to the development of environmentally sustainable events, starting with the Wave Rock Weekender. We expect to learn a lot along the way, and improve our performance every year. We'll need help and feedback from people who come to the show to get it right. Broadly, these are our environmental objectives:

To deliver events that have a neutral environmental impact by employing sustainable technologies wherever possible;
To introduce and promote sustainable technologies to festival patrons; and
To leave a legacy of sustainable practice in the host town.

We're undertaking the following initiatives in 2010, and hope to extend these in future years. More stuff may be added to this page as we refine plans for the show. We're open to suggestions.

Carbon Neutralisation

Working with the Men of the Trees Carbon Neutral Program and the Shire of Kondinin, we have established a Wave Rock Weekender Forest, in a wheat-belt location en route to Hyden. In the price of each transport option you buy with your ticket, we have included the cost of planting enough trees to offset a return journey to Hyden. Men of the Trees will assist us to calculate any other carbon debts associated with staging the Wave Rock Weekender, and we will ensure trees are planted to offset this debt, making the event 100% carbon neutral. Our forest will be added to each year, establishing a memorable legacy for us and everyone who attends the show. We are of course taking whatever opportunities we can to reduce our energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and will aim to improve our performance each year. Soul Highway is concerned about climate change and wishes to adopt best practice event management policies that demonstrate environmental responsibility, in the hope that we may reduce the environmental impact of our events and encourage our patrons and suppliers to make positive changes in their own lives.

Waste Recovery

We're employing a waste recovery system with the aim of diverting as much waste generated at the event as possible from landfill. We will work with vendors, suppliers, and patrons to separate all rubbish into three streams: compostable; recyclable; and other waste. Compostable waste will be processed and used in the local area.

We minimise waste through a number of strategies including using compostable containers rather than standard packaging. Patrons can also bring their own clean, reusable plates, cups and containers and get food served in them to minimise waste.

Compostable containers

Thanks to the generous support of DZOLV Products, we'll be using 100% compostable drinking cups throughout the event site. Food vendors will use 100% compostable food containers and wooden cutlery. These and all other compostable waste will be processed, and eventually used as a natural fertiliser in the local area. These compostable containers need to be placed in the green Compostables bins. With everyone's help, these measures will help us to reach our waste management goal. Patrons can also bring their own clean, reusable plates, cups and containers and get food served in them to minimise waste.

Coach Travel

We're offering reasonably priced coach travel packaged with tickets to enable patrons to travel to and from the show easily and with lower carbon emissions than if they travelled individually. We hope to see 50% of patrons take up this option in 2010, and a higher rate in subsequent years.

Solar and LED lighting

We'll be experimenting with solar technology and low energy LCD and compact fluorescent lighting around the event site to reduce our grid power use. If you have any cool solar camping equipment or other solar ideas, please bring them to the show so we everyone can check them out.

Natural Power

Thanks to Synergy, we will be using NaturalPower at the Wave Rock Weekender site for all grid power used during the event period. NaturalPower is electricity generated from 100% renewable resources such as the wind and sun and is fully accredited by the national GreenPower program. No greenhouse emissions are produced in NaturalPower generation. You can select NaturalPower for your home or business instead of power produced by coal or gas. Contact Synergy for more information.

Finding out more about sustainable technology

Links to great organisations who can inform you on your trip down the enlightened path of sustainable living:

www.sustainableliving.wa.gov.au
www.ata.org.au
www.slf.org.au
www.denmarkcsl.com.au
www.earthgarden.com.au

We're not affiliated with these organisations, and don't necessarily endorse all their content, these are just some ideas to get you started.

Environmental Partnerships

Carbon Neutral

Carbon Neutral was established in 2001 by Men of the Trees Inc WA (MOTT) as a way to take positive action against climate change through getting more trees planted, but is now a separate not for profit company. MOTT retains a controlling interest in Carbon Neutral, and Trees for Life (SA) has partnered with Carbon Neutral for South Australian projects.

Carbon Neutral is committed to securing a better future for our children by making it easy to offset emissions through native tree planting and facilitating access to information on greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The organisation provides tools for people and businesses to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide produced by their activities, including driving a car, using coal-generated power, and air travel, then offers them the opportunity to have native trees planted to sequester the carbon produced by their activities. The tree planting also helps to combat salinity, provides habitat, and assists with water cleansing and soil erosion. Through this program, Carbon Neutral have helped us to establish the Wave Rock Weekender Forest at Kalgarin between Kondinin and Hyden which we'll add trees to each year to carbon neutralise the event.

www.carbonneutral.com.au
www.menofthetrees.com.au

DZOLV

DZOLV Products are specialists in environmentally sound packaging products. They scour the world to find fully biodegradable and compostable products like bags, food containers and cups, test them, and sell the products that meet their high standards. They've kindly provided all the drinking cups for the Wave Rock Weekender. The cups look and function like plastic, but are completely compostable, and break down into useable organic material.

www.dzolv.com.au

Synergy

Synergy is WA's power retailer. Synergy is supplying us with NaturalPower to the Wave Rock Weekender site for the duration of the event, which means we won't produce any emissions from our grid power use. NaturalPower is electricity generated from 100% renewable resources such as the wind and sun and is fully accredited by the national GreenPower program. Contact Synergy for more information about buying NaturalPower products for your home or business.

www.synergyenergy.com.au

Sheenagh and Dennis Collins

Sheenagh and Dennis Collins are the proprietors of the Wave Rock Motel, Wave Rock Caravan Park and the Hyden Roadhouse. They're local heroes with an enormous commitment to the development and vitality of Hyden, and without their generosity and assistance we would not be able to produce the Wave Rock Weekender. We are very grateful to them and the people of Hyden for welcoming us into their town for the weekend, and we're really looking forward to working with Sheenagh and Dennis over the long term to keep developing an awesome experience for patrons and making a quality contribution to the cultural life of Hyden.