Spring Newsletter 2026
March 27, 2026
Read this newsletter in its original formatting here.
Welcome to the BWB Spring Newsletter!
As the equinox arrives, it’s a good time to look at what’s in motion.
This issue carries that energy. Neighbors organizing around housing instability. Artists and community builders finding each other through Burnal Equinox. Civic Ignition Grants landing in Europe and Australia and New Zealand. And in June, the Solstice Summit returns to Fly Ranch — a chance to be together, in place.
We also released our 20-year anniversary video. Twenty years of people showing up with tools, ideas, and enough do-ocracy to figure it out together.
None of this is one program or one story. It’s woven together when people in different places arrive at the same instinct: something needs doing, and we’re the ones to do it.
Wherever you are in your journey with BWB…just getting curious or already in motion, we hope something here inspires you to take action.
As always, we invite you to join us for upcoming events, stay connected with our community, and consider supporting BWB with a donation. Let’s continue to support one another in building a better world together.
Join Us: BWB Solstice Summit at Fly Ranch
On June 18-21 we’ll gather at Fly Ranch for the BWB Solstice Summit. A four-day campout rooted in building, learning, and celebrating collaboration.
With this year’s theme, The Living Ritual, we ask a simple question: what do we tend? What begins as fire becomes practice—care for land, for each other, and for the systems we’re part of.
This is a radically self-reliant, off-grid gathering where participants co-create the experience.
And with an expanded capacity this year, if you’ve been curious about the work BWB has been doing at Fly Ranch, this is your chance to be part of it.
👉 Express your interest in attending here
BWB Civic Ignition Grants: Europe + Australia/New Zealand
We’re offering two Civic Ignition Grant opportunities—each up to $1,500 USD—to support community-led projects rooted in collaboration, creativity, and the 10 Principles.
Europe (ELS — Nijmegen, NL)
In partnership with the European Leadership Summit, supporting civic projects across the region. You do not need to attend ELS to apply.
👉 Learn more and apply here. Applications open now through April 13, 2026.
Australia & New Zealand (BoNZA)
In partnership with Burners of New Zealand and Australia, supporting civic projects across the region. You do not need to attend BoNZA to apply.
👉 Learn more and apply here. Applications open April 1 and close May 22, 2026.
🎥 Celebrating 20 Years of Burners Without Borders
We just released a short video marking 20 years of Burners Without Borders—civic action, rooted in Burning Man, carried into the world. It captures the evolution of the work through stories, moments, and the collective impact of thousands of volunteers.
Over the past year, we’ve taken time to reflect in a few ways: ‘Burners Without Borders at 20: A Testament to Burning Man Culture‘ by Andie Grace and ‘BWB at 20: What’s Next & How to Get Involved‘ by Roxane Jessi, and now our BWB 20th Anniversary video. Together, they map where we’ve been and where we might be headed.
🤝 SF Burnal Equinox: BWB Community Partnership in Action
This spring, the Burning Man community gathered in San Francisco for Burnal Equinox: The Cosmic Treehouse. Alongside music, art, and performances, the event invited BWB into a community partnership with Instituto Familiar de la Raza (IFR) with programs serving Chicano, Latino, and Indigenous communities. Participants were invited to support IFR’s work through in-kind donations.
This type of collaboration reflects the power of Burning Man culture to extend beyond the dance floor, bringing together celebration and civic engagement to support community well-being.
Interested in finding community partners and bringing BWB to your local events? 👉 Check out our toolkit here.
☎️ BWB Worldwide Call: Response & Resilience in Action: Our Unhoused Neighbors
On our last virtual event, we shared how Burners across the network are engaging housing instability not as a problem to fix, but as an invitation to create community-rooted solutions. Speakers shared approaches ranging from gear redistribution and coffee service to consistent street outreach and companionship models centered on human connection.
While each project looks different, all are grounded in relationship. The conversation offered practical insights for engaging locally, and left participants feeling inspired. We hope you feel the same.
🗓️ Don’t miss our next event Subscribe to the Community Activation Calendar.
BWB Brazil
One year after completing a community dry bathroom, the Kijemy ūpú Mãguty Cultural Center in Brazil is thriving.
What began as a sanitation project has grown into a place for cultural traditions, youth connection, and has contributed to the well-being of the Pataxó village. With these improvements, the site is now officially recognized as a cultural center by the Brazilian government.
BWB Reno
Join BWB Reno on April 18 (Earth Day) from 2-5 for a Truckee River Cleanup Dance Party
A moving dance party with a purpose! Come show some love to the Truckee River while getting down with your community. Start & Finish: BELIEVE Plaza
Bring your friends, your energy, and your dancing shoes- let’s help Mama Earth and dance while we do it! 👉 RSVP here
Join BWB at the House of Friendship, May 3 – 5th in Reno, NV. We’re looking for volunteers to help represent Burners Without Borders, spark conversations, and explore the intersection of BWB + Rotary—including a potential new fellowship forming that would be a place for BWB’ers and Rotarians to meet and work together.
👉 Reach out to get involved: bwb@burningman.org
BWB Sacramento
This April, in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), BWB Sacramento will feature a teal version of their logo as a sign of support and solidarity.
In partnership with Stand Up Placer, Crooked Lane Brewing, and local Rotary Clubs, they’re helping uplift awareness and community engagement—including an event on April 17 at Crooked Lane Brewing.
BWB London UK
Are you a designer, engineer, or maker eager to help solve technical challenges while weaving in thoughtful elements that bring dignity and care into a mobile shower system?
BWB UK is partnering with CharitableRoots to design a shower system for displaced communities in Dunkirk, France. 👉 Reach out to JJ: jj@burnerswithoutborders.org
Stewardship Project: Black Rock Desert
Join Friends of Black Rock–High Rock on Sunday, April 12, for a hands-on stewardship day supporting the Black Rock Desert. (11a – 3p)
Projects may take place across microplayas, hot springs, dunes, or the open playa—helping to clean up trash, remove burn scars, and restore impacted areas as we care for this shared landscape. The exact location will be announced soon. Questions? Reach out to info@blackrockdesert.org
Solar Library | Volunteer Call (Black Rock City)
The Solar Library is a shared solar charging infrastructure in Black Rock City that supports artists in moving away from generators—reducing fuel use, transport, and overall footprint on playa. Instead of building their own systems, artists borrow batteries and plug into a collective resource.
This year, the team is expanding and shifting to a volunteer model, and they’re looking for support:
Ways to contribute:
– Build & Strike (Aug 29 / Sept 5)
– Solarian shifts during the event (daily panel care, battery exchange, MOOP)
What you get:
– Access to Steward Sale tickets or Work Access Passes (depending on role)
– Early entry options
– Hot showers + Solar Brunch
If you want to support artists, reduce generator use, and be part of one of the most practical sustainability systems on playa—this is a great way in.
Volunteer post AfrikaBurn, South Africa
Just outside Afrikaburn—the closest school to Tankwa Town—Hantam High School is installing a 30kW hybrid solar system to ensure reliable power for classrooms and student housing.
This project will reduce energy costs and reinvest thousands each year back into education, while creating a model for rural resilience.
Join us after the AfrikaBurn:
- Volunteer for installation support
- Donate solar equipment (panels, batteries, inverters)
- Contribute funds to complete the system
👉 Donate 👉 Get involved: calvinia@sailrelief.team
Volunteer with Footprint Project
Help bring renewable energy solutions to communities in crisis. Footprint Project is seeking skilled volunteers to support solar disaster relief.
Design & Engineering Architects, engineers, and CAD experts who can contribute open-source sustainable recovery designs and field-ready clean technology solutions.
Equipment & Logistics Professionals who can help source and coordinate donated renewable energy equipment and assemble deployable solar microgrids for disaster zones.
Emergency Response Licensed electricians, engineers, and contractors available for on-site disaster recovery operations (deployed case-by-case based on field needs).
Only Myth Can Save Us Now
We’ve recently rediscovered this conversation with Josh Schrei of The Emerald on Life is a Festival, exploring myth, festivals, and ritual in modern life.
They reflect on why humans have always gathered, how myth helps orient us, and what it means to bring ritual into our daily lives.
It’s been shaping how we think about this year’s Solstice Summit theme, The Living Ritual. We hope you enjoy the listen as much as we did.
BWB Grantees on Burning Man LIVE!
Hear from two recent BWB Civic Ignition Grant recipients who are turning creative builds from Regional Events into real-world sustainable solutions.
From solar-powered, low-maintenance lighting systems to deployable shade structures and experimental builds using recycled materials, these projects are practical and open-source.
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. Thank you for all the support you’ve given thus far!
Stay Connected: Explore The BWB Ecosystem of Current News, Social Media Channels, & How To Get Involved.