If it sounds too good to be true, it often is but here’s a DIY toolkit you can try safely at home, without cost and with positive benefits to both health and finances. It’s a DIY home check on lighting usage, which is being highlighted during this year’s International Dark Sky Week from Monday 13 April to Monday 20 April.
The week is an initiative of the International Dark Sky Association and is being supported by the Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve (WDSR).
“Light pollution disrupts wildlife, affects human wellbeing, wastes money and energy, contributes to climate change and obscures our view of the night sky. International Dark Sky Week is an opportunity for South Wairarapa – and the wider region – to protect the night environment and support healthier conditions for plants, animals and people,” says Charlotte Harding, WDSR Project Coordinator. “We’re encouraging all residents of South Wairarapa and the wider region to do a Home Outdoor Lighting Assessment, which includes practical steps to do at home with ease, without cost and with positive flow on effects, including lower power bills, better sleep and less light spill that can impact neighbours, pets and plants.”
International Dark Sky Week runs in April each year but Harding encourages the community to work on reducing light pollution all year round with activities such as the DIY Home Outdoor Lighting Assessments, which encourage the use of warmer lights, timers, downward facing light shades and less light overall – “The flow-on benefits are widespread for us all.”
South Wairarapa and Carterton districts were officially certified as Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve in January 2023 and cover 3,665 square kilometres. Learn how to do a DIY lighting use at home online at: swdc.govt.nz/wairarapa-international-dark-sky-reserve
