The Camp Guide
Camp Yggdrasil
Shade, story, and a circle under the tree
Black Rock City · Spellbound · 29 August – 6 September 2027
You joined the family at a rare moment. Your noble heart and your curiosity were noticed, and we are grateful to have you with us for this first chapter.
In 2027, Yggdrasil sets roots at Black Rock City for the very first time, for Burning Man and the year of Spellbound. That means the people who join now aren't only camping with us, they're helping found this. From here on, we are counting on you to help us nurture the tree and carry it into the desert. Whether you are a brand new burner or an old soul from the branches of the Borderland, this guide is yours. Read it slowly.
There is no spectator seat here, and there especially isn't one in a founding year. The camp is made by the people who show up for it, and that now includes you.
Yggdrasil is the tree of life, sprung from the earth and watered by the sky. Its crown spreads out over us, making shelter and real shade. Underneath it we gather as a tribe, as vikings, nymphs, elves, trolls, norns, amazons, humans, or however you choose to express your true essence during our ceremonies and theme nights.
We are a camp built on connection, togetherness, and co-creation. We care about experiences and the quiet mysteries of life. We are trying to make a place you can call home, even in the dust of Black Rock City, one that keeps welcoming you back after your adventures on the playa, co-created with other dedicated souls pushing toward a common goal.
Our mission is to reconnect with mother nature in the form of the tree of life, to light up our surroundings with care, and to bring more awareness to the earth and our need to look after it. Nature holds us with a mother's patience. The least we can do is remember that, and build in a way that gives back.
You are someone who shares these values, who wants to help raise this home and take it down again when the time comes, who has a vision for good vibes and for holding space for others. If that is you, then you are already one of us.
In Norse cosmology, Yggdrasil is an immense and ancient tree that connects the nine worlds. It stands at the centre of the cosmos, a symbol of interconnectedness, its branches and roots reaching through the whole universe. In some tellings it is the source of all life itself. An evergreen ash, deeply holy, where the gods meet each day to hold their council.
Three great roots support the tree. One reaches the well of Mímir, a source of knowledge and wisdom. One reaches the spring of Hvergelmir. One reaches down to the great dragon Nidhogg. The branches rise into Asgard, Midgard, and Jotunheim, and the tree gives home to many creatures, among them four stags, two eagles, a squirrel, and the three Norns, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, past, present, and future, who shape the fate of all living things.
This is the tree we carry. When we build Yggdrasil in the desert for the first time, we are planting that story in the dust, a centre for the nine kinds of people who find their way to it.
A burn is an event created by its own community, the artists, makers, and organizers, which now means you. It is guided by a shared set of principles and happens all over the world. The first and the original is Burning Man, held each year in Black Rock City, a temporary city raised in the Nevada desert and returned to bare playa when it ends. Yggdrasil was born at the Nordic Borderland burn, and in 2027 we bring it to Black Rock City for the first time.
A burn runs on participation, not consumption. Nothing is for sale inside the gates. What makes it come alive is what people bring, build, and give.
We also hold Consent close to the heart. Ask first, listen always. It is the ground everything else stands on.
You don't have to do everything at once. Start here, and the rest will follow.
Record a short video telling us your name or playa name, where you're from, why you joined, and what you hope to bring. It's how we start to know each other.
WhatsApp is our main channel for everyday camp life, so hop in and share your intro video there so everyone can meet you. We also keep a Discord as a backup space. This is where the founding crew comes together.
Pick something you want to help create, and sign up for a role. In a first year every hand counts double, and there's a place that will fit you.
The camp portal at bm.yggdrasil.camp is your home base: announcements, travel plans, shifts, the camp guide, and the whole roster. Anything official lands there first. Your invite link gets you in.
A camp this size runs because people take ownership of a piece of it. Most roles have a lead and a co-lead, so no one carries it alone, and one person holds at most one role. A first year in Black Rock City leans harder on placement, tickets, water and shade, so those roles matter even more. Read it, feel where you're drawn, and raise your hand.
Own the application path with Burning Man: the Letter of Intent, the Placement Questionnaire, and the deadlines that win us our spot and our address in the city.
Track the ticket path for a new camp, coordinate early-arrival passes for build crew, and make sure no one gets left at the gate.
Lead the build when the structures go up in the dust. It starts early, so stay close to the meetings and the placement plan.
Everything ends so it can begin again. Strike plans the careful take-down and the MOOP sweep, so we leave the playa cleaner than we found it.
In the desert these keep people alive and well. Plan the camp's water and the shade structures, and make sure there's enough for everyone.
And there was light. Calculate the power budget for kitchen, art and members, and plan generators and solar for a week off-grid.
The treasurer's seat. Hold the overall budget, dues, transport and build costs, and keep the numbers honest. For those at home with math.
Coordinate how gear, art and people reach Black Rock City and get home again, across a much longer road than before.
Chef's hat. Plan a week of meals for the whole camp, mind everyone's dietary needs, and keep hungry Yggdrasilians happy in the heat.
Hold the care of the camp: consent culture, first aid, and a calm place to land. You keep our people safe and seen.
Build the world-tree itself, shape the opening and closing ceremonies, welcome the burn virgins, and hold the feeling of the space.
Run the member hub, keep everyone in the loop, hold the camp dreams, and keep the story of Yggdrasil alive and shared.
Build begins in the days before the gates open. The structures go up, the shade and the tree take shape, every role starts to interlock, and the camp slowly becomes itself in the dust. Strike begins once the city starts to come down. Leaders split the work into teams so everyone has a task, and we leave no trace, combing the ground for every last bit of MOOP. Every Yggdrasilian joins either build or strike. It isn't a chore we hand off. It's how a pile of gear becomes a home, and how we hand the playa back exactly as we found it.
Now that you've taken the time to learn, that you've answered the call of the tree of life, and that your heart is filling with a new family that feels like yours, there's only one thing left. Go.
Explore the city. Discover the creativity of your neighbours. Write your own path across the playa. Express yourself, or find a quiet corner at dawn and simply contemplate. Connect with the beautiful souls around you. Give something away. Receive something freely. This is the part no guide can write for you, and it's the reason we build everything else.
Yggdrasil started in the Nordic forests of the Borderland, and in 2027 it reaches all the way to Black Rock City. This is our first year here, and nothing is set in stone yet. That's the gift. The people who join now aren't inheriting a camp, they're founding one, and the choices we make together this year become the tradition that follows.
We want the tree to mean something beyond the week: nature and art, awareness of the living world, and leaving a real mark in the right direction, planting trees beyond the playa and building with more care each year.
Everything you need to stay in the loop and get ready lives here. The member hub is where your season comes together once you're in.