Sustainability made easy at BlueDot Festival

If you've been following me on Instagram, you may have seen that I recently attended BlueDot festival, a festival that's manages to combine science and music under a telescope to create something pretty special. It's a festival that many may be a little skeptical of. After all, if science isn't your thing then why would you go? The thing is, science is only a small part of what makes this festival, in fact without the food, the positive vibes and the huge variety of music available the festival would only be a little special.

Having already placed Bluedot on my list of sustainable festivals this year, I was eager to see how the festival had developed and if there were initatives that were making it easier for us all to have a smaller impact on the planet whilst having fun. After all, Glastonbury for instance has to fork out £780,000 to have their rubbish removed and 58 tonnes worth of reusable equipment like tents are abandoned each year (which is equal to 8 double decker buses!).

After arriving at the festival, we filled our lunchtime with talks on why life needs quantum biology and what the future holds for our cities and democracy. When my brain couldn't take any more of course I naturally gravitated to the bar. No disposables could be found though. Instead, all the cups were reusable with a £1 deposit meaning that you get a keep sake and getting to care for the environment simultaneously.

Next up was food and my word was there a lot of choice. From Falafel to Chinese, halloumi or chicken skewers to churros. The amount of vegan and vegetarian options were also really impressive I opted for the vegan paella. As expected it was delicious and I demolished it in no time. What was great to see though was that vegware cutlery and paper plates were being used throughout so no single use plastics could be seen.

Saturday night came and went. I ate falafel in a giant pitta followed by churros whilst watching comedy. I danced under the stars and experienced immersive art. I truly felt like I had gotten back in touch with nature, and time stood still, even if it was just for a small moment.

With Sunday's arrival, more talks were on the cards. I started off the morning listening to Alice Roberts speak about which species have changed the world. The answers, if you're curious, are wolves, maize and horses.

My next talk was by Jon Copley about "What has Exploring Life in the Ocean Done for Us" and we learnt a great deal!

With so much of our oceans still unexplored it's crazy to think how much there is still left to find out about. The ocean is a treasure trove of knowledge that can be used in our world and its heartbreaking to think so many species have already been lost, the knowledge we could have learnt, gone. For example, who would have thought that the knobbly edges on hump back whale flippers has been proven to help wind turbines perform better when replicated. Ocean microbes can aid antibiotic resistance or that the glue mussels use to attach themselves onto rocks in the sea could be used as a glue in surgery to help organic matter stick when in wet conditions.

My final talk of the day was about Microplastics, something that has been on many peoples radars recently. The study had found that the River Mersey has the highest levels of Microplastics ever recorded in a river system. The facts were scary but what really hit me was that the number of microplastics we previously thought were in the oceans are so so so far from correct. Currently though, the environment agency doesn't even consider microplastics and they aren't filtered out when water is treated meaning the problem is increasing everyday.

Bluedot festival made it easy for the everyone as well as the sustainability obsessed individual to reduce their impact without really knowing it, whether that be paying a few extra pounds to offset your carbon when you buy your ticket or just putting your rubbish in the clearly label compost bin. The most important part to me though, was how education on many topics surrounding the environment and our impact on the planet were accessible and interesting to anyone. With a great mix of talks, music, drinks and comedy, you not only get to experience a fantastic weekend, but you come away knowing that you have learnt something new.

You cant help but leave Bluedot with a new found sense of appreciation for how much beauty there is in the world. It makes you realise just how fragile our little bluedot really is and how we all have a role to play in looking after it and I can't wait to do watch the festival grow in the years to come!

Have you been to Bluedot? Would you like to go?
Love
Erin

My tickets to Bluedot were complimentary but my continued obsession with sustainability and fascination with unusual events are 100% my own.