Dark Sky Ireland is a voluntary group established to raise awareness of light pollution on the island of Ireland. www.darksky.ie. Wink supports Dark Sky Ireland
Ireland is home to two internationally recognised dark sky places; Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve and Mayo International Dark Sky Park. Both have been awarded a gold tier for the quality of their night skies, free from light pollution and are important assets of natural night sky heritage.
Not all areas of Ireland can achieve gold tier status however there is much we can do to strive closer to this position, especially to aid with the current energy crisis, we should be considering the following :
- Use LEDs which are 2700K or less
- Conduct light studies to efficiently light a space
- Light plans should be user orientated
- Lower light levels in residential areas
- Consider whether fittings can be turned on completely at night
- Internal lighting for office buildings should be turned off after the last occupant leaves the building
- Green space lighting should be turned off after certain hours
- Sports pitch lighting should be turned off after the area no longer in use
Whether it be a new plan, upgrade, or retrofit, the external light fittings should be chosen on their merit of light properties as opposed to the cost cutting of value engineered schemes. We should be striving to bring back the night, to elevate the connection once again between the night sky and the terrestrial ecosystems.
