How do you make a city disappear?

It's that time of year again when we are reminded of what Leave No Trace can look like on a larger-than-life scale... the creation, and then ultimate disappearance, of Black Rock City. In the desert of Nevada for just over a week, close to 50,000 people will build their home in this city for the annual art festival, Burning Man, and then collectively see to it that the city vanishes until next year.

Having one year of attendance under my belt, I'm looking forward to being a bit more of an expert this year - not just with costumes, but with my Leave No Trace systems while living in the desert. As I plan ahead and prepare, I've been amazed at the depth of knowledge being disseminated from the Burning Man officials to the entire community, to raise awareness of how to Leave No Trace.

Even if you're not attending this festival, I would highly suggest taking a few moments to check out some of the great things that Burning Man is doing to Leave No Trace at their festival. A few minutes on the Earth Guardian site will do nothing short of inspire you to Leave No Trace the next time you go to any festival or event. Be sure to check out the "Sample LNT Plan" and "LNT Model Camp Tour" under the "Burning LNT" tab, as well as the Leave No Trace practices for water, fire, air, earth and ether.

Pictures to come in just a couple of weeks... Stay tuned!