Let stars shine through
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
While many embrace the season by decorating with lights, there’s something important to keep in mind to keep our night skies dark.
Darkness is essential for our coastal wildlife — especially nocturnal species that rely on it for feeding, breeding and more. The migratory birds that visit our coastline use natural light to help them navigate. Artificial lighting can confuse the birds causing them to migrate too early or too late.
Darkness matters for us too. It supports healthy sleep, balanced hormones and good mental wellbeing. But beyond the science, there’s the wonder of our dark skies — where you look up and see stars shining long before fairy lights were ever invented.
There are a few things we can do to help keep our night skies dark — and these tips aren’t just for this festive season!
- Turn lights off when you aren’t using them or use a timer that automatically turns them off for you.
- Fit light shields or install downward-facing lights which limits glare and helps reduce light pollution.
- Share the message with friends and family about why reducing light pollution matters for wildlife and for us.
If you’re fascinated by nocturnal wildlife, love stargazing, or want to learn more about protecting our dark skies, be sure to check out our annual Dark Skies Festival. Every winter, we host a series of free events celebrating the incredible dark skies on our coast. We want you to experience and enjoy them but also help us to protect them. Find out more here.
You can also check out our Dark Skies Guidance which goes into further detail of why dark skies protection is needed and how to take action to achieve this.
