“Dark skies” movement booming at European parks

On October 12, parks authorities in France organized their latest “Le Jour de la Nuit” or “The Day of Darkness,” a celebration of night skies gracing France’s national park network.

Launched in 2008, the dark sky festival is now celebrated across France and has even spread to Quebec, where its influence is growing. The event was a hit, and it’s only getting more popular by the year. 

“It made quite an impression,” said Manon Rieutord, a campaigner with the French nonprofit Agir pour l’Environnement, or Action for the Environment. “Every year we’re dedicating one year and one night to this campaign.”

The campaign she’s referring to is the dark skies movement, an international effort to tackle light pollution and bring back the pristine, star-filled skies many of us remember from our childhoods. Parks across the world, but especially in Europe, are now playing a leading role in this campaign.

Rieutord described the “Le Jour” initiative during a recent online discussion hosted by the Europarc Federation, a union of more than 400 members in 40 countries passionate about preserving and maintaining Europe’s public lands and waterways. The online forum was organized for Federation members to share ideas on how to press they dark skies movement forward, and how the national and natural parks they manage or are involved with could play a leading role.

Rieutord described how she and her colleagues organized months ahead of time to ensure that the Day of Darkness was a hit. Her organization produced special Day of Darkness campaign and educational materials, delivering them to parks across France.

They organized a single brand and theme around the even, inviting parks managers to use all these materials in their marketing efforts free-of-charge. They even handled press inquiries for France’s national parks, mindful that not all of the parks were equipped to handle queries about Le Jour de la Nuit specifically. “We give a wide range of communication materials,” she explained to the hundreds of participants.

The ultimate goal, Rieutord said, was to encourage more parks and communities to make adjustments that will make the night sky darker and more friendly to stargazers. “We have events everywhere, mostly in natural parks,” she said.

Dark skies draw crowds

Night sky events and dark sky festivals at national, state, and provincial parks have become a global phenomenon.

In the United States, at least seven major national parks routinely host dark sky-themed events, including Grand Canyon, Badlands, Bryce Canyon, Shenandoah, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Great Basin National Parks.

In France, Action for the Environment helped organize dark sky events at parks found in every corner of France, including at Parc naturel regional du Gainais francais just outside of Paris and Parc national du Mercantour. Rieutord zeroed in on these two park initiatives as case studies to show others what they can do to get their favorite parks in on the action.

The promotional materials were only one part of the entire effort. Organizers also arranged special artistic events. Local astronomers were also invited to lead public outdoor lectures on dark sky features. They also held side meetings to discuss steps that parks and communities can take to reduce light pollution.

The movement is spreading throughout the continent. National parks in the Baltic states in particular rank high as popular dark sky destinations.

Kristian Bjornstad, Director of the Norwegian Parks Association, said he’s not surprised at the surging popularity of the dark skies movement at Europe’s national and regional parks.

He acknowledged that the high population density and extreme development seen on the continent has robbed the countries of Europe of their pristine nighttime experiences. Still, he argued that  memories of crystal-clear night skies linger, and that the continent longs for them to return.

“It’s kind of natural that a lot of this work has been focused on continental Europe,” Bjornstad said. “I wonder sometimes, do we really appreciate the darkness that we have around us?”

Millions of Europeans clearly do.

Selling darkness

In addition to the rising popularity of Europe’s national parks’ dark sky-themed events and festivals, people attending the Europarc Federation forum said it’s getting easier to convince parks and nearby communities to put in place infrastructure and practices that help preserve dark nighttime skies.

Daniel Gliedner, a consultant with Nature Park Our in Luxembourg, worked in the lighting industry for 20 years and now advises companies and municipalities on how thy can reduce or alter lighting to save money and maximize starry skies.

He said getting businesses on board with these ideas is an uphill climb, sometimes taking months to even get sit-down meetings with the right people.

Image: A poster advertising Le Jour de la Nuit in France and Quebec.

“Educating them in using less energy is quite difficult,” Gliedner said. “You have to invest a lot of time into sensitizing.”

But once people are made aware of the cost savings then it gets easier to sell them on these concepts, he said. Recommended changes include switching to LED lighting and only lighting areas that absolutely need it, carefully directing the light to certain areas while avoiding others entirely.

So called “on demand lighting” is also gaining in popularity in Luxembourg and other European countries. These systems are motion-detected and only light up areas when someone is present. Combined, these technologies pay for themselves and then some over the years.

Other communities go farther. Gliedner pointed to Putscheid, Luxembourg as one extreme example.

Located near popular nature reserves in Luxembourg and neighboring Germany, Putscheid has adopt motion-sensing lighting for all the community’s publicly lit areas. Then the community goes entirely “lights off” from 1 am to 4:40 am.

Dark sky outings are now routine at Putscheid. The community organizes nighttime walks with biologists and astronomers, including a popular 5-kilometer evening stroll with astronomers that occur “usually when there’s no moon” Glider said.

Gliedner said 42 communities in Luxembourg are now expressing interest in following Putscheid’s lead. He said he’s fortunate to have made a career shift away from selling lighting to selling darkness instead.

“It’s been the most lucky choice I’ve ever made in my life,” Gliedner said.

Certifications sought

Jean-Francois Graffand is a cofounder of DarkSky France Association and an astronomer.

He invited participants in the Europarc Federation gathering to work toward earning their parks certification by DarkSky International (formerly the International Dark Sky Association).

Graffand said he’s working overtime to get parks and adjacent communities across France certified. Earning a DarkSky International certificate requires adopting measures that reduce light pollution. He said the greatest challenge is convincing private property owners to embrace dark sky-friendly lighting.

He listed the six different certifications offered.

“International Dark Sky Sanctuaries” are the darkest and most remote areas. An “International Dark Sky Park” certification is offered to public and private parks or conservation zones. “International Dark Sky Reserves” are described by DarkSky International as zones “surrounded by a populated periphery where policy controls protect the darkness of the core.”

Urban zones, communities, and even individual lodges can earn certificates based on what they do to create clearer night skies overhead. The International Dark Sky Places program is for “communities, parks, and protected areas in the world that preserve and protect dark skies,” Graffand said.

Rieutord said another Day of Darkness event will be held throughout France next year. The event only recently spread to Quebec but is rapidly gaining popularity there, and she expects more parks and communities in Quebec will participate next year.

Rieutord argued that the dark skies movement isn’t only about helping people better appreciate the beauty of the night sky. She said light pollution is increasingly recognized as a health risk to people. There’s negative social impacts associated with it, too. And it remains a serious threat to biodiversity.

It’s an environmental issue of great concern to national and natural parks and outdoor enthusiasts. Which is likely one reason why the dark sky movement is taking off globally, Rieutord said.

“The night sky heritage needs to be preserved.”

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