2026 Fall Newsletter
October 1, 2026
See the newsletter in it’s original format here
Welcome to the BWB Fall Newsletter
Meaningful action rarely begins with a perfect plan. It grows through relationships built over time, trusted partners bringing different strengths, and people willing to show up when an opportunity to help becomes clear.
Across the stories in this newsletter, you’ll see what becomes possible when we stay connected: organizations working together, resources finding new purpose, and community members turning their care into action. We hope these stories inspire you to notice what is already emerging around you and imagine how your own skills, relationships, and creativity might help it grow.
If you or others in your community are doing meaningful work, we want to hear about it. Share your project with us so we can learn from it, celebrate it, and help connect it with the worldwide BWB community.
As always, we invite you to join us for upcoming events, stay connected, and consider supporting BWB with a donation. Let’s continue to inspire and support one another in building a more beautiful world together.
Wildfire Response in Northern Nevada leads to long-term Resilience
If you traveled to Black Rock City this year, you may have been following the wildfires affecting communities around it. We heard from many Burners who wanted to help. Theme camps, Footprint Project, Reno Sunrise Rotary, and individual volunteers stepped up in different ways to support people across the region, including the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.
In our Hawk Fire update, we share how one connection helped a donation of 27 portable Energy Relief Kits into a resource for future emergencies across Northern Nevada.
👉 [Read the Hawk Fire Update Here]
500 Black Rock City Bicycles Cross into Mexico
On September 20, 500 bicycles from Black Rock City’s Yellow Bike program crossed from San Diego into Tijuana. The crossing brought together cycling advocates, mechanics, Burners Without Borders, and volunteers from more than 15 organizations on both sides of the border. Together, they prepared the bikes for community organizations in Mexico, where they will reach those who need them for school, work, healthcare, and family.
The bicycles made the trip in a weekend. The relationships behind it took three years to build. Read the full story to see what happened along the way and what the volunteers carried across the border besides bikes.
Closing the Loop: BWB Food Systems BRC
What would it look like to bring the same intention we’ve brought to renewable energy and waste into the food that fuels Black Rock City?
This year, BWB Food Systems began experimenting with that question. Food grown and stewarded by community members at Fly Ranch made its way onto playa, with more than 200 pounds of fresh produce harvested during Burn week and brought back to Black Rock City to cook, pickle, share, and gift.
One highlight was the inaugural Food Link-Up— a sunrise gathering that brought multiple kitchens and chefs together to feed hundreds of people while imagining food as another form of playa collaboration. The project also experimented with direct sourcing, connecting camps with Fly Ranch honey and farmer-direct coffee, and helped connect the Temple Kitchen into the BRC compost system.
The bigger vision is a more circular food system: connecting farmers, camp kitchens, compost, Fly Ranch, and the wider Burning Man community so that more of the resources flowing through Black Rock City can support the values we care about.
These were small prototypes, but they point toward something much larger—and the team is already looking toward 2027.
Interested in bringing your camp, kitchen, farm, or food expertise into the experiment? Reach out to Charles at charles@brcfoodsystems.com.
Photo Credit: Benjamin Henretig
BWB at Decompression 2026: Oakland Edition!
Join us at The Loom for Decompression on October 17th, as we bring some of our favorite pieces of BWB-BRC into an Activation Space!
At 5 PM, we’re hosting a Mixer for local Bay Area nonprofits run or supported by Burners— a chance to connect, cross-pollinate, and spark new collaborations.
👉 [Sign up here to join the mixer] 👉 [Get Tickets to Decompression]
Interested in volunteering, partnering, or sharing your project on stage?
Reach out to us at bwb@burningman.org.
Fly Ranch Harvest Party & Art Build | October 1–4
Come build, harvest, soak, and gather at Fly Ranch! Friends from across the Burning Man community are coming together for a few days of art, gardening, and connection. Help harvest a garden growing more than 50 kinds of vegetables, herbs, and edible plants; lend a hand with art installations; plant wildflowers; or simply enjoy the land, hot springs, and good company.
This is a self-reliant campout, so bring your own shelter, food, water, and camping gear. Toilets, handwashing stations, and communal spaces will be provided. Come for a day or stay for the whole gathering. If you’d like to teach, build, or share something, email flyranch@burningman.org.
👉[Get Tickets to the Harvest Party and Art Build Here]
The temperatures may be starting to drop, but things with BWB-CO are heating up! At Elsewhence Collexodus, 150lbs of food, beverages, and other goods were raised for LifeBrifge Food Pantry in Bailey, CO.
Next up we’re doing a BWB-COllaboration with Denver Decomp! Come be part of your local Burner CO-mmunity and help make a difference at the following events:
October 4th: Elyria Park Cleanup (9AM-12:30PM). Hang out after at MoodSwing Denver!
October 10th: Stop by our table during Denver Decompression at MoodSwing (2PM-2AM) and drop off nonperishable food items for our food drive supporting Rocky Mountain Food Bank
We made a real world MOOP Map! When we do community resilience activities like cleanups, we rarely see what a place looked like before or after our participation. To show the impact of our collective efforts, we created https://moopmap.org. It’s a publicly-accessible map where every dot is one photo of place, pinned where it was taken. It can be used to show before/after impact, or highlight local hotspots that need attention. You can narrow the date range to see the efforts of a single cleanup, or turn chapters on and off to see one region’s work
Tap a dot to open the photo full screen. It’s just a couple of taps to take a picture of a spot and submit it to the map.
Over the past month, we’ve been photographing MOOP items (and clean spots!) in our community and pinning them where they were found, with over 337 photos so far at moopmap.org. Any volunteer with a phone can contribute to the project — no app or account needed. In addition to BWB South Bay, BWB Colorado and BWB UK are set up and ready to roll. Want to get on the map? Reach out to genghis@burningman.org.
“Christmas Isn’t Over” starts their season on October 4 at Oppenheimer Park. Join the first Saturday of every month until Summer 2027
👉[Event Details]
👉 Join BWB Vancouver on FB
Build your preparedness skills at Camp DoomsDaddy
👉 [Learn More and Register Here]
When an emergency happens, the people nearby are often the first to help. Camp DoomsDaddy is a hands-on weekend in Sebastopol for building the skills and connections to respond with confidence. On October 24–25, practice wilderness first aid, wildfire preparedness, go-bag planning, backup communications, vehicle readiness, and emergency skills. The ticket includes six meals and camping; an optional CPR/AED/Narcan training is available Friday evening. Where: Green Valley Farm + Mill, Sebastopol, CA.
Become a Local Civic Hub Leader
Our friends at Better Together America are looking for civic leaders to help build civic hubs in their local community. A civic hub is where people work together on local challenges, build community resilience, and strengthen civic participation. If you’re helping people organize and collaborate in your community, this network may be worth exploring. Civic Hub leaders can connect through a learning community and access shared resources, communications support, and funding opportunities, and be part of a growing nationwide network. Learn more about civic hubs here, and reach out to vinay@bettertogetheramerica.org if you have any questions!
👉 [Listen to Full Episode Here]
BWB & Civic Ignition Grants: BONZAAR Podcast
How do community ideas become collective action? In this episode, Burners in Australia share their experiences with BWB’s Civic Ignition Grants—from co-housing symposiums to maker spaces—and reflect on what the application process helped them clarify and learn. Along the way, they explore BWB’s roots, its work in resilience and regeneration, and how small gatherings like Canberra’s Winter Solstice create space for meaningful connection.
In the Press: 500 Bicycles, Two Countries, Many Hands
The bicycle project drew coverage from the San Diego Union-Tribune and Spanish-language press, sharing its story with audiences on both sides of the border. It’s easy to see why: nearly 500 bicycles, volunteers from two countries, and many organizations working together toward a shared purpose. Beyond the scale, the story shows how resources from a temporary city can support civic infrastructure— and how much becomes possible when communities connect.
👉 [Read the Full Article Here]
BWB exists because of YOU
Over the years, your participation and generous support have enabled this creative community to accomplish so much around the world.
BWB is known for helping real people solve real problems. The unique gifts this community brings to the international stage are quickly transforming what people think is possible.
To continue doing this important work, we need your help. Consider donating to the continued success of BWB. Any amount that you can give will go a long way in helping us to reach our goals.
Stay Connected: Explore the The BWB Ecosystem: Current News, Social Media Channels, & Get Involved.
