Echo Project brings eco-friendly rock to Atlanta

Cooler temperatures and an away football game may provide some students with a great excuse to get out of Tuscaloosa for the weekend. The Echo Project offers a blend of amazing music, beautiful camping and great camaraderie that should be just the break needed from the monotony of daily routines.

The Echo Project will be held from October 12 through 14 outside of Atlanta. In addition to boasting a heady line-up featuring the likes of The Flaming Lips, Phil Lesh, Thievery Corporation and tons more, the festival is pioneering the way as a truly green festival.

As the sustainability movement has grown in recent years, many festivals have tried to attract fans by touting bits and pieces of ecologically sound practices. The Echo Project is a new breed of festival that addresses the ecological problems our world faces today in a much more holistic way than has previously been done. Solar stages, biodiesel, hydrogen cells and recycling are just the tip of the iceberg for the Echo Project.

One unique undertaking the Echo Project is engaging in is a Chattahoochee River clean-up and restoration project. Echo, in partnership with Rivers Alive, will be offering volunteers upgraded tickets to the show in exchange for work in trash removal and river restoration. Festival promoter Nicolas Bouckaert, who has a personal interest in Georgia rivers after growing up there, said, "Over 700 people have already volunteered to lend a hand in cleaning up the Chattahoochee."

The three-day camping festival will be held on a 350-acre parcel of land owned by promoter Bouckaert, which is situated on the banks of the Chattahoochee. A diverse range of musical acts including Moe, The Roots, Michael Franti, Umphrey's Mcgee, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, MSTRKRFT, Secret Machines and a plethora of other artists will grace the stages over the weekend.

"Fall is the perfect time for a festival because it isn't too hot or cold, and the camping situation will be perfect," said Zoe Bromberg, a sophomore in New College.

In addition to all of the aforementioned green practices, the Echo Project will be recycling old cell phones, phone batteries and chargers in an effort to divert the harmful chemicals and metals contained in phones from landfills.

"This is a great initiative and easy way to make a difference. Something as minor as donating a used cell phone is an ideal example of how small actions can make a big impact and inspire change," said Bouckaert

When patrons purchase a green ticket for an extra four dollars, the festival will purchase 750 kilowatt hours of sustainable energy to offset the carbon used to transport people to the festival. Also, any non-sustainable energy used by the festival will be offset by planting trees around the world.

"In the vending area, we are going to have an echo village, which will be an area with several different tents that showcase companies and non-profits that are focused on greening," said Bouckaert.

Local and organic food options will be available at the festival as well as two farmers markets on-site featuring organic produce from local farmers.

Bouckaert said he acknowledges that it is not economically possible to make the festival 100 percent sustainable with the technology today but is striving to make sure that becomes a possibility in the near future. In future years, Bouckaert said he would like to see the festival have a positive carbon impact by burning biomass to create energy, which is a revolutionary idea for festival events.

Bromberg said she will be attending the festival.

"I saw The Flaming Lips live last summer and it was the most visually stunning show I'd ever seen," she said. "And I love going to music festivals because of the great vibes. "

Elizabeth Lowrey, a senior majoring in nursing, said she will attend as well.

"Because of the great line-up and the close proximity to Tuscaloosa, the Echo Project should be a great way to spend fall break," she said.