Time to pull the block out curtains, to block out the glow and glare of ALAN (see story below) for the sake of our companion nocturnal native animals that would like us to spare more than a passing thought for their waking night hours. Over bright lights (left) when turned down or out can give them their night back (right).  Photos: Night Sky Tourist.com, Dark Sky International (see MMM Issue 48, Feb-Mar 2025, for photos with selected stories)

Skyglow and glare are a health hazard
There are no block out curtains for native wildlife – how do they cope with the artificial light pollution produced by humans? 

IT’S BEEN AN issue for a long time, but we have been blind to the extent that artificial light at night (known as ALAN) is having on the native species we are trying to protect at Munibung Hill and by extension, elsewhere. 

It is so bad and so intrusive that it is disrupting, way beyond bearable levels, the ability for many nocturnal animals to live a normal life – as they have know it for millions of years, prior to western human settlement.

Scientists around the world are attempting to alert us to the consequences of this modern artificial light phenomenon that is effectively trespassing into the ‘property’ (habitat) occupied by night active native animals – bandicoots, microbats, gliders, possums, owls, and many others.

MHCS has established a working project team in a bid to bring these concerns out into the open, since we are all unwittingly complicit in creating a situation that is increasing at an alarming rate – 4.6 per cent year on year. The effects are covered in other stories later in the magazine. 

We encourage everyone to become savvy night light users and where necessary put in place measures to minimise ALAN trespassing into the lives of others – especially nocturnal species. Ensuring that lights are fully shielded and directed down, eliminating spilling over fences and up into the night sky.  Become a night sky advocate – be part of the solution to night sky pollution.  Let us know how you get on

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Night sky conservation involves us all
Expanding our gaze to be more inclusive of how we think about conservation

FOR MOST OF THE TIME our attention is given over to the conservation of land and catchments and the creeks within them.  Very little attention has been given to night sky conservation.  But that’s because we are a land based, daylight focused species. 

We know about nocturnal animals, but it is only recently that we have come to realise, that their nights have become less friendly. The reason being, their human cousins are massive polluters of the night sky, impacting on their feeding, breeding and migratory patterns.

So we are expanding our gaze, expanding our efforts to take into account the effects we are having on the night vision of the wildlife at Munibung Hill and elsewhere – so we can once again take in the spectacular display that takes place every night if only we could see it!

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Starborn: How the stars made us – and who we would be without them, Roberto Trotto, 2023

Where have all the stars gone. Well they haven’t gone anywhere. We’ve just blocked our vision of them with skyglow.
One of our species’ most enduring and universal relationships has been with the night sky. Yet in the glow of today’s artificial light, we have lost our intimacy with the cosmos.
This is a sweeping inquiry into how the night sky has shaped what it means to be human.
With sensible thoughtful changes, we can reclaim the night, when we choose the right light

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MHCS supports national campaign
To use a footballing analogy, we need to tackle the scourge of night sky pollution.

In the interests of the common good, the government is urging us to tackle this issue head on. It is a case of all sectors of society putting aside their differences, to come to grips with the pervasive intrusion of artificial light at night (ALAN) creeping  around our neighbourhoods, interfering with our right to a dark night.

The Australian Government has launched a campaign asking people to switch off light pollution, especially to help wildlife.  Let’s switch off light pollution together – at this link: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/campaign/light-pollution

What does the science say? Does it stack up and should people get involved?  Helping wildlife through lighting choices: The effects of light pollution on Australian wildlife, is a summary report of the issues produced by The Biodiversity Council. 

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Light to protect the night
Humanity has long looked up to the night sky to learn, teach, study and find inspiration.

Today, with light pollution drowning out the stars, many have lost this connection.

Helping to ensure a future where telescopes can scan the night sky, nocturnal animals can thrive under the canopy of darkness, and children can peer into the cosmos to learn and ponder.

For us to achieve a healthier and more wondrous tomorrow, we need to start deliberately adopting best practice lighting today. It’s something we can all participate in achieving, one light fitting replacement at a time.

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Light pollution harms wildlife and ecosystems

Light pollution can mimic, mask or confuse natural light signals, causing:

• mistimed activity, growth or breeding
• disturbed sleep and circadian rhythms
• disorientation and poor navigation
• attraction to artificial lights
• encounters with new predators
• reduced survival and reproduction.

Artificial lighting affects whole ecosystems by:

• dividing and disconnecting suitable habitat
• reducing pollination by nocturnal animals
• disrupting food webs and nutrient webs
• benefiting invasive species (cats, foxes and cane toads take advantage of artificial lights to feed).

Reducing and removing unneeded artificial lighting is one of the easiest actions people can take to protect animals, plants, ecosystems and habitats and our future.

Reference: Friends of Berowra Valley – Dark Sky

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Our attitude to how we treat sky country
From saving lives to protecting the night sky, Ken Wishaw is willing to share his knowledge as to why we need to desperately rethink our attitude to how we treat sky country. Lots to learn from a dedicated star man.

He was Australia’s first full-time helicopter rescue doctor who is now doing what he can to save the dark night sky.  Here are some of the  salient points from: ‘Once you lose it, it’s very hard to get back’: doctor pushes preservation of dark sky, Sunshine Coast News, January 2, 2025.

Dr Ken Wishaw was an anaesthetist, helicopter rescue doctor and medevac officer for the Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Army.

While he is a Sunshine Coast resident, his advocacy for protecting the night sky can be applied anywhere, thus our interest in his achievements and what we can learn from his research, that can be applied for Munibung Hill in the Lake Macquarie region and more broadly to include Newcastle and beyond.

Dr Wishaw co-founded the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, which advises policy makers on light pollution matters.

“Environmentally, it’s important we protect our wildlife,
many of which rely on the night in their predator-prey relationships,”
Dr Wishaw said.

“Further, one third of plant pollination occurs at night and is seriously affected by excessive lighting.”

That’s because night pollinators such as bats and insects need dark nights to travel and feed.

Excessive light at night impacts human health and wellbeing, also contributing to more greenhouse gas emissions and higher energy demand.

“From a heritage point of view, we should remember that we’re looking up at the same stars that navigators have used for thousands of years,” Dr Wishaw said.

“Particularly our First Nations people, who were the first astronomers and the first navigators to use the night sky throughout their ways of navigating across the country.”

More than 80 per cent of the world’s population lives under light polluted skies, and 90 per cent for those living in the USA or Europe.  Australia is not exempt from this artificial light pollution.

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Continue reading along these lines …

Blinded by the light: how skyglow pollution is separating us from the stars, Brittney Manning, The Guardian, 11 Dec 2022.  Light infrastructure has expanded alongside population growth but it’s not only star gazing in jeopardy – cultures, wildlife, science and human health are all threatened.

And learn more about what MHCS is doing and how to be a part of the solution by visiting the Society website.

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Australasian Dark Sky Alliance (ADSA), Valuing Darkness Symposium and Round Table – March 19-21, Melbourne
https://www.australasiandarkskyalliance.org/valuingdarkness

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International Dark Sky Week is coming up in April.
Keep an eye out for events to be held during the week.
Share these with your social media networks.

What is light pollution?  Learn more about light pollution at darksky.org.
What are the solutions?  Learn more about how we can protect the night at darksky.org.
DarkSky’s efforts to protect the night.  Thanks to more than 193,000 supporters, members, and advocates in more than 70 countries, we provide leadership, tools, and resources for individuals, policymakers, and industry, in order to reduce light pollution and promote responsible outdoor lighting that is beautiful, healthy, and functional.
International Dark Sky Places
We certify and help conserve starry sky parks, communities, and other places around the world.
DarkSky Approved lighting
We certify commercial, industrial, and residential outdoor lighting that reduces light pollution.
Advancing responsible outdoor lighting
We work with communities, governments, and professionals to prioritise quality outdoor lighting.
Light pollution education
We inform the public about how excessive artificial light can harm humans, wildlife, and our climate.

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Dark Sky links
International Dark Sky Week | ADSA
SHORT but very good video featuring Australia’s Astronomer at Large Dr Fred Watson aimed at schools written by Department of Planning
https://www.australasiandarkskyalliance.org/international-dark-sky-week

DARK skies are a ‘library’ for Indigenous knowledge systems, but light pollution threatens them – ABC News
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-08-14/light-pollution-astronomy-indigenous-knowledge-dark-skies-stars/104199588

IDSW Scavenger Hunt.jpg | Powered by Box
https://darksky.app.box.com/s/k1ukl807pgx3bg74q1qa904i6j35z00f

WHAT’S the most amazing thing you’ve seen in the night sky? Vote from our Top Ten
– ABC News
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-08-12/most-amazing-thing-in-night-final-poll-australians/104204814

NATIONAL Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife – DCCEEW
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/publications/national-light-pollution-guidelines-wildlife

SIX WAYS to Take Action This International Dark Sky Week | DarkSky International
https://darksky.org/news/six-ways-to-take-action-this-international-dark-sky-week/

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All of us are made of stars. Our skin, blood, bones are all formed from stardust; the revenant atoms from the furnace-like hearts of long-dead stars. For those miraculous few decades that we hold our mortal shape – before those atoms zip off somewhere else to form something altogether new – each one of us is yoked to the heavens and the sublime infinitude of space.

– Roberto Trotta, author of Starborn: How the Stars Made Us – and What We Would Be Without Them. 2023 – available for loan at Lake Mac Libraries.

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We have invaded the night sky, trespassing into the natural world, disrupting plant and animal cycles and denying ourselves and our children the experiences our ancestors took for granted.

Roberto Trotta, author of Starborn: How the Stars Made Us – and What We Would Be Without Them. 2023, says that …At a time when roughly 80% of the world’s population lives in places where the stars have been snuffed out by the orange glow of artificial lighting, we humans have lost our intimacy with the cosmos.

It doesn’t have to remain this way. We can reconnect, rebuild our relationship with sky country. Reaquaint ourselves and our children with the stories that are a part of the common cosmological heritage of human kind.

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Matt Gaw, Our universal connection to the stars (Resurgence magazine, Issue 244, Mau/June 2024) reviews the book by Roberto Trotta, author of Starborn: How the Stars Made Us – and What We Would Be Without Them, 2023

As Trotto explores how the stars have given us clocks, maps, compasses, muses, gods, beauty and the sublime – helping us navigate the world both physically and spiritually – he also devises a thought experiment: imaging a world where the night sky held no stars at all.  The idea of planet Caligo is an excellent model to underline how diminished, how lost a starless humanity would be.

… From MMM Issue #48, Feb-Mar 2025