Black Rock Desert Interpretive Walk

Overall Concept: Weíre trying to think of new ways to stimulate the Burning Man community to appreciate the Black Rock environment and embrace LNT in their own creative ways. This walk can be described as an interactive, self-guided 24/7 attraction that includes information on the Black Rock desert, itís history, LNT practices and desert stewardship activities. The walk has been designed to inspire participants to reconsider their own impacts. Think about the kinds of displays you would find at park or welcome center, but with a strong Burning Man twist. Visualize a walled, curved pathway (curtains) inside the pavilion. The art piece will incorporate lights, sounds, and textures. It is an introduction and tribute to the Black Rock desert and an examination of our part the desert. It is hoped that after participating in the walk, residents of Black Rock city will see the desert with new eyes, reexamine their own impacts to the area and be inspired to start at Leave No Trace and go further in their own creative ways.

The walk is composed of five rooms, or modules, with each space focused on a different aspect of the Black Rock Desert and our place within it. The first room introduces participants to the Black Rock Desert and its unique natural environment. It will contain maps of the entire National Conservation Area (NCA) and displays on the natural environment, including photographs and written text. The second room is a tribute to the rich history the area has experienced. Several major emigrant trails pass through the area which provided routes for California and Oregon-bound travelers in the mid-1800s. Unlike many other areas in the west, with its scarcity of population and visitors, the Black Rock Desert has maintained much of its historical character. This room will contain displays on the trails and personalities that have influenced the area.

The next two rooms focus back on the Burning Man community. The third room contains displays which examine both how the Black Rock playa is uniquely situated to host the event and how the community had developed itís own techniques to take the Leave No Trace principals to new levels. The fourth room looks at participants who go beyond the average to Leave no trace and leave positive impacts on the environment. The room is a both tribute to the DPW clean-up efforts, with descriptions and pictures of their efforts, an explanation and illustration the inspection and clean-up standards that apply to the event and an examination of the restoration and volunteer work of the Earth Guardians and groups such as the Friends of Black Rock as desert stewards.

After going through these four rooms, folks will enter an inspirational, zen-like space in which they will be asked to consider the deserts impact on them and their impact on the area. The room will include inspirational quotes and photographs of the desert. The room has been designed to capture the essence of being alone on the playa. It will contain a beautiful low table and benches. Upon the low table is a journal and instructions that pose several questions for the participant to consider. After consideration of the questions, the participant could either leave their thoughts in the journal or proceed on to the Earth Guardian lounge to talk about their ideas. The lounge, which will contain comfortable chairs, a low table, an outdoor fireplace, and a library (books on the desert, the environment, the environmental movement, etc.) is a chill space that offers folks an area for creative exchange. Surrounding this area are obelisks that are triggered by participants entering each of the rooms. Thus lights going off on the obelisks will reflect shared and accumulated knowledge of the desert and Leave No Trace principals and practices, connecting the lounge with the overall inspirational, interpretive walk.

* Send email for questions or to volunteer to help build the walk.