Rainbow Gathering must care for the earth it celebrates

The annual Rainbow Gathering preaches for peace and love on earth, but what about peace and love for the earth? This year was the 50th anniversary of the National Rainbow Gathering taking place in Routt National Forest in Colorado. For 50 years hippies, cowgirls, aliens, fairies, nudists, Christians and more have been temporarily gathering in the woods over the fourth of July with the intention of praying for world peace.

This year there were roughly 10,000 attendees, having a significant impact on the land. While rainbow gatherers work with the local forest service and have a clean-up team after the festival, the restoration of the land is often costly and laborious.

For the past two years, I have attended these gatherings and have helped cook in the kitchens, collect firewood, break down structures and pick up trash. I had such an amazing time connecting with the people at the gathering this year and left feeling inspired to be of better service to the world around me, a feeling shared by many of my peers. However, this feeling was somewhat dampened by my feeling of guilt for the impact we had as a group on the land.

Before the gathering even began, locals of Craig and Hayden, Colorado, two towns outside of the gathering, were concerned about the impact the gathering would have on the wildlife. This was due to the timing being significant for the elk, mule deer and sandhill crane mating seasons. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and ten other organizations wrote letters to the U.S. Forest Service to stop the gathering claiming it was a threat to elk calving season. And those were just the beginning of the concerns.

Now, almost a month after the height of the gathering, there is still more labor to do in restoring the land and disposing of waste. U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Michael Woodbridge names some of the damage still left, such as soil compaction, dog waste, and improper composting. Woodbridge says that the estimated cost for the local forest service is around $700,000.

A part of that cost was for the two industrial-size dumpsters that were already completely filled by July 7th. Although campers are encouraged to “camp in and pack out,” many uneducated or negligent people still improperly dispose of their waste.

After attending the annual gathering for the past two years, I have only just stumbled upon the “Mini-manual for Rainbow Gatherings.” This is an informative blog post that breaks down the dos and donts of the gathering. Much of this information is educating attendees on how they should interact with the environment. This information includes: how to properly bathe, where to defecate, how to sanitize dishes, what to do with trash, and more. The article claims that Rainbow Family, “…disturb the environment as little as possible allowing the environment to remain pristine.” While the gathering values peace and love on earth and aims to inform the attendees through educational posts like this one, this is far off from the reality of what occurs at these events. From my experience attending the gatherings, I’ve seen some people embodying these practices while others don’t. This leads to the volume of waste and damage left on the earth proceeding the event.

At an event like the Rainbow Gathering where everyone is responsible for creating the experience, it falls on every individual to make the right decisions for the environment. Before attending the event, I could have had better environmental etiquette by learning about the ecosystem of the land and reading this Rainbow Gathering manual. This is what I would encourage future attendees to do as well. In addition, it is on everyone to educate their neighbors and speak up when something isn’t right, in and outside of the gathering. For example, if someone is bathing in a water source and using Dr. Bronner’s biodegradable soap, it’s important to inform that person that even biodegradable soap is harmful to the environment, and that gray water should be disposed of 300 feet away from water sources.

My last recommendation would be for a Rainbow Gathering environmental stewards group to form, with the intention of obtaining information on the local ecosystem and relaying that information to the people attending. This way the responsibility can be shared between a team and individuals.

The Rainbow Gathering’s values of peace and love on earth are still in their conceptual phase, and putting these values into practice will take time and intentional effort. I have no doubt, however, that the people attending the Rainbow Gatherings will be the first to defend the earth when their time is called.

Catherine Degroot lives in Boulder.