After a couple of days of the Prodigy, Razorlight and memories of odd bars, whiskey, brandy, massages, dried noodles, veggie burgers, the temptation of bacon, I have just about recovered and am ready to write again.

10p refunds for cups and kids with stacks of hundreds; about 5 local produce stalls, the odd solar panel, and scouts and explorers campaigning to save the bees. Isle of Wight festival has a lot of green tendancies, but benchmark it against Glastonbury and it has far to go.

Chris (pictured) had collected 40 cups (£4 / $6).  This pay per cup recycling scheme was an obvious success from the lack of cups on the ground, it’s just a shame about the rest of the litter.  Litter is endemic at most of the large scale festivals in the UK, but the Isle of Wight Festival really needs more bins.  Also with the number of men and women peeing in the hedges I wonder what the Environment Agency will find if they analyse the content of the surrounding rivers and land now.  More troubling is the acceptance of this behaviour, and pure indulgence for environmental destruction, still I think making comments like ‘1 inch. Is that all!’ helps rid yourself of those, that identify the hedge near your tent as a good toilet.  WHERE WERE THE URINALS? people were peeing everywhere.

Overall the festival felt slightly disorganised.  We were moved after pitching, then told we could go back again.  Not nice after a 40 walk with a load of kit.  Security around the site were the nicest bunch of security guards I’ve ever met.  Actually they felt more like friendly community wardens. Disorganisation felt more  at production as opposed to the grass roots level.

Oxfam were represented selling second hand clothes,  ‘Act Now on CO2′ slogans adorned the site, and a small number of local producers sold pies, cakes and fish.  Scouts and Explorers were on hand to raise funds for a local research project into the decline of bees whilst also taking some of the donation money for their own coffers.  The festival has made some bold moves in the right direction but if it wants to be a eco-leader it’ll need to pack a greater green punch next year to make it the best.

Here’s some ideas for next years fest: clay oven pizzas, eco-toilets, more urinals and bins, devliver compostable bags for peoples rubbish, land rovers run on biodisel, 100% local food, eco camping tips on the main screen (well done on the messages from the Prince’s save the Rainforest campaign), big screen text messaging for sharing ideas to make the environment, a community of eco-models to help teach people new skills … Let me know if you need my assistance next time, my fees for WaterAid are low

Glastonbury Festival 2008, ‘Love the Farm, leave no trace’ that’s what this year’s slogan said. The organisers even developed some biodegradable tent pegs to stop those lovely dairy cows cutting up their feet and mouths.

So how were the festival’s green credentials? Well a damn site better than any other festival in the UK I have no doubt about that, but the tent pegs were rubbish. The weather was good and the firm ground, snapped a third mine. It’s the design, not the materials.

Glastonbury always is an eclectic mix of green knowledge, music and madness. This year was no exception. My forth time, it was my best year yet.

But all was not perfect in this land, that suffered from archipelago syndrome during the sea level rise in the 7th millennium BC.

The sun kept the Solar Panels gushing with clean energy, but on the first day of the festival. I was disappointed to see the lightbulb bunting around the camp site still on in the daytime. Maybe it was powered by biodiesel.

This year a number of Green Gadget stalls were present selling solar panels etc.

The queues at the Vegetarian food stands seemed slightly longer this year but maybe that was wishful thinking.

Last year there were signs everywhere to tell people not to p*ss in the streams, this year there were less. It may be a coincidence but there were a lot more people relieving themselves that way this year, and even more people not taking them to task about it. I guess the number of dead fish, and reduced water oxygen will eventually give the real picture.

There was also a lot less rubbish around the site this year than the last sunny year I saw. I never saw a paper cup bonfire this year, but I heard they went on. Overall it was disheartening to still see so many ignorant people. Sure someone will be around at the end, to pick it up, but does that make it ok? Recycling bins were everywhere though and recycling bags seemed to magically appear outside my tent.

Trash City, a Mad Max-esque, re-incarnation of various metal remains, showcased a darker side to recycling. Surrounded by fire breathing, metal towers, fashioned into dark structures, the Bar’s exterior announced ‘ Abandon all hope we have!’. Tucked inside a corner of Trash City, the Rubbish Fairy demonstrated a twisted, but fun side to recycling through her art.

The Green Fields showcased an eco-home, a greenhouse made of recycled bottles, a giant felled redwood made into a banquet table and chairs and numerous stalls including campaigns for the people of Tibet, skilled craftsmen and women, and various connotations of climate campaigns.

Up in the Tipi Field, you got the good appreciation for nomadic living, and the sheer happiness of people living a basic but fulfilling life. The showers and saunas nearby were powered by renewable energy (fire and solar).

WaterAid initially inspired me to raise funds for them at Glastonbury with their (slightly more pleasant) toilet experience. This year they were back again with their African Style Pit Latrines.

Was the festival Green? You bet it was.

Could it do better? It always does, I can’t wait until Glastonbury 2009.

I asked a number of people at the festival what they were doing in their own lives to tackle climate change and also what they found the most difficult.

Sharia – Greenpeace Fundraiser

‘I shop locally, eat locally, manage my own allotment, and cycle to work. I don’t use supermarkets, so for me fitting in all my shopping, along with everything else is difficult. But the vegetarian and vegan co-operative I’m a member of, makes this slightly easier.’

Joe – LetsTalkGordon.org.uk Campaign Co-ordinator

‘I’m getting active politically, at the moment I’m co-ordinating LetsTalkGordon.org.uk a campaign dedicated to getting the Prime Minister to make a televised address to the nation on climate change, launching the national debate about how we should respond.

I’m trying to eat less meat and cut down on flights. It’s difficult because my brother lives in New York. I offset, but am not convinced. Not being a vegetarian, eating less meat is not easy.

Helen – Festival Go-er

‘I’m growing my own veg in the garden, going to local farmers markets and buying too much cheese! I try to buy eco-products like organic, fair trade clothes and earth friendly toiletries. Overcoming my own laziness is the hardest part.’

Three Drunk Blokes on Cider

‘Arhhhhhhhhg.. Take a photo.. hic’

Gemma – Anti-Slavery Campaigner

‘Buying energy saving light-bulbs and saving energy around the house. I find the hardest part is seeing how were all making a difference, knowing that the part you play is just a small part in the whole thing.’

This year’s Glastonbury Festival was one of the greenest yet, but there was still room for improvement. It will be remembered as ‘one of those fantastic years’.

Keep coming back for a review of the Festival’s Greener Side in the coming days.

At Glastonbury Festival, The Green Fields provide an environmentally friendly guide to life.

A number of entrances to the fields exist, but many will come along the old train track. Decorated by campaigners, the old track contains a number of climate inspired messages. ‘Did you know if all the bees died, life on earth would cease to exist after 60 years’, ‘Walk your kids to school’.

This year the Green Fields are showcasing a couple of low impact homes. Practical tips on how you can insulate your walls with sheep wool, build with green timber and make but use of your natural environment.

Despite all this greeness, the festival motto ‘Love the farm, leave no trace’ has clearly not struck a chord with some.

Well I’ve arrived at Glastonbury Festival 2008. The organisers of this years festival have promised it to be the greenest festival yet, so i’m really looking forward to the next few days.

The Green Futures field claims to be here to make this a better world to live on.

In fact Glastonbury isn’t just a music festival, its here to make everyone’s future brighter. The Green Futures field is an important part of this.

The speakers tent hold diverse talks throughout the festival, ;Can the Torie Deliver a Green Agenda? with Caroline Lucas, Anthony Browne and Justin Rowlett.’, ‘Poetry’ and ‘Peak Oil’ with Shane Collins.

Amongst the jigsaw of solar panels, biodisel generators feeding the field is the world’s first solar-powered travelling cinema. A regular attraction that’s been operating here for 11 years.

A nearby camp can teach you anything from jewellery making to crafting wooden dishes. Yesterday I was taught how to light a fire with a strike steel.

This year I’m trying to reduce my carbon footprint at Glastonbury Festival by living by 10 Carbon Busting Green Festival Tips.

Recently a number of GreenGuys and GreenGirls have written about the environmental and health benefits of going vegetarian. Some reports even say vegetarians have half the carbon footprint of their meat eating counterparts.

People go vegetarian for many different reasons, but for me it’s about the environment.

I’m looking for 15 other meat-eaters to join me between the 25th – 29th June 2008, and try out vegetarianism.

WILL YOU JOIN ME?

Join in the fun at http://www.pledgebank.com/GoVegetarian

OR text ‘pledge GoVegetarian’ to 60022 (in the UK only)

The idea has already generated a lot of lively debate on eFestivals and fits in nicely with Glastonbury’s attempt to lead the way in Green Festivals in 2008. Much of their marketing material carrying the strapline ‘Leave no trace, Love the farm’.

Over the coming weeks I’ll be reviewing a number of the latest eco-camping products and publishing my 10 Greener Festival/Camping Tips on GreenGuysGlobal.

I’ll be writing from the festival on my environmental finds, and asking people what they are doing in their lives to help reduce their carbon footprint, and finding difficult about making changes in their lives.

Join the group ‘Follow The Green Festival Man’ on Facebook, and become a friend of the Green Festival Man on Myspace http://www.myspace.com/GreenFestivalMan.

Look forward to chatting with you soon.

GreenFestivalMan
(aka GGG Editor Gareth)

PS Keep watching this website for my GreenFestivalTips later in the week.