GREEN TEAM
OCF strives for sustainability
BY SHANNON FINNELL
T
he Oregon Country Fair: What a bunch of hippies! OCF’s approach to being green
is an example of how that can be a really positive thing — although EW totally
supports the peace and love and freedom of mind stuff, too. Operations manager
Charlie Ruff says it’s important to keep in mind that festivals like OCF are fi ghting
an uphill battle when they try to turn green. “I have a fi rm belief that events by nature
are not sustainable,” Ruff says, though he also thinks that dealing with the temporary
peak in usage of an area is all about improving and minimizing impact on the environment.
Since 2000, OCF has strived to bring its waste output closer and closer to zero. The
Fair uses 300,000 of its own durable steel forks and spoons to cut down on waste, and
will continue a pilot project to expand that use. The amount of compost produced at Fair
continues to grow year after year.
Ruff also says that sustainability at the Fair works because it’s not afraid to experiment
and fail. When OCF tried corn-based water bottles a few years ago, it disrupted composting
and recycling processes. “Some of our best successes have come from learning how not to
do something,” Ruff says.
Ruff says that while the efforts in waste and compost are some of the coolest
sustainability initiatives, he’s crunched the numbers from a carbon standpoint and come
to realize that there’s another place the Fair must focus. “The biggest signifi cant impact
is moving all the people here and then getting them back,” he says of transporting 45,000
people over a three-day period.
OCF reduces that impact by partnering with LTD to cut down on cars and increase
gas effi ciency, allowing all ticket and voucher holders to travel from any location in Lane
County to the fair for free on public transit. “Our mobile split just went through the roof a
few years back,” Ruff says, “and now a solid third to a half come on the bus.”
At the Fair site, the organization has electric carts to help move the elderly population
and people with disabilities, and its other internal shuttles run on biodiesel. Ruff says the
transportation system has been dubbed Fair Area Rapid Transit, or F.A.R.T.
On top of recycling, OCF tries to provide green entertainment, too. Stages are powered
by a mix of sources, including bike power and solar.
Such a large event is bound to have an impact on the land it occupies, and that impact
has the potential to be disastrous. But when the revelry is over and OCF packs up to leave,
they take measures to make sure the site is improved. Delicate and especially important
habitats are designated green zones that remain undisturbed, and other areas are actually
improved through the creation of a seed bank, an organic produce garden and Fern Ridge
Public Library’s bioswale project (a plan for runoff water).
Anna Scott, an OCF board member, says that while it’s vital to OCF that its sustainability
projects be long term, it’s also important from an educational standpoint that its efforts be
visible during Fair itself. “Having those direct offsets is really important,” Scott says.
In 2007, OCF started moving beyond the simple yet crucial mantra of “reduce, reuse,
recycle,” and getting scientifi c by estimating the carbon footprint of Fair. The board
devised a GreenTicket plan to allow eco-minded attendees to opt into a conservation
strategy. Ultimately, concerns about carbon offsets led the board to put GreenTicket funds
into OCF’s own sustainability programs, and they decided to involve the Fair’s audience
by letting purchasers pick which programs their tickets fund.
Whether it’s energy, waste or transportation that holds a special place in a fairgoer’s
heart, she can pick one to promote with her ticket at this year’s Fair.
ew
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EUGENE WEEKLY JUNLY 7, 2011
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