GBI returned to the Black Rock Desert this summer, for a second year, to support the BLM’s efforts to provide educational information to the estimated 52,000 festival attendees.
Situated next to Center Camp, the interpretative team invited participants to learn more about the BLM’s mission, activities, and policies. Reproductions of the newly developed interpretive panels displayed at the Visitor Center provided consistent information regarding the Black Rock’s natural and human history and offered information regarding special events and unique features of the region.
GBI holds workshops of special interests to “Burners,” many of whom come from out of state. Last year, GBI Board members Alan Gubanich and Corey Lewis came to discuss Birds of the Great Basin and wilderness advocacy, respectively. “It is not difficult to find evidence of remnant wildness in the world here, said Lewis, surveying the crowds whose clothing, at times, demonstrate a creative intersection of post-industrial fashion and nothingness.
This year’s interpretative efforts addressed the issue of safety and how the concern has changed over time through discoveries in technology and energy sources, highlighting the shifting perspectives of the Black Rock Desert from that of native, emigrant, and contemporary traveler.
