Folk Goes Green By Numbers

The festival is all about music and community, a community that goes hand in hand with the environment. While we often talk about the number of people that come out to the Ottawa Folk Festival presented by TELUS, there’s a whole other set of numbers that we’d like to share with you.

13,250

The amount of water bottles we’ve diverted from a landfill since going water bottle-free in 2009.

16,000

The number of plates we divert from the landfill every year by washing reusable plates.

34,000

The number of forks, knives and spoons we wash instead of using plastic ones.

75%

Thanks to the Green Team, who goes through everything that’s thrown out at the festival, we’re able to recycle or compost up to ¾ of the waste at the festival. That’s 35% more than the city’s average!

You’ll often get lectured on ways to save the planet, but here, it’s become a natural part of the festival. Whether you’re eating tasty organic food, putting your beer cup in a cup sucker or taking in the beauty of Hog’s Back Park during a bike ride, it’s all part of the festival’s history of greening initiatives. 

The festival has always had the environment at it’s core and led the way as the first festival in Ottawa to go water bottle-free but we’re always looking for ways to make it greener. Here’s a look at a few of the green things at this year’s fest:

Envirotent

This is the place to go if you want to learn about solar power, making natural cosmetics or edibles of the wild. I got the chance to stop for the homemade cosmetics workshop. I learned about some natural products that can replace harsher store-bought items, such as sugar and oil as an exfoliant and peppermint as a skin soother. 

Green Vendors

We already touched on this in our foodguide and artisan guide, but there’s great natural jewellery and clothing. And don’t forget about the organic food -  B. Goods Bakery is a great for fair trade coffee and organic treats!

Keep it green folks!

- Gabby