One of the country's only Dark Skies park is planning a special viewing night this weekend. If you're into such things you may want to mark your calendar; it's taking place near Petoskey.
The Emmet County Dark Skies park is one of only nine such parks in the nation. It's become the go-to spot for sky watchers in Michigan. Mary Adams, the Program Director for the Park says the park has become as an essential part of local culture, "Why is the dark sky important to us as a resource. It's not because from here at Emmet county we're going to launch a space program. It's that, it's fundamental to a basic education. Understanding what the star world it's coming from cultures around the world. The cultures that are indigenous to this area and then how over time through the history of humanity how it has grown and changed."
Adams talks a lot about how the night sky can encourage curiosity and help kids learn about science, math and culture. She says it's also becoming more in vogue as communities go green. She insists that star watchers and light lovers can coexist. She says it's a matter of using lights only when and where you need them. And pointing the lights toward the ground instead of the sky. She makes it sound like common sense; allowing for healthy night time recreation and saving resources at the same time.
"It's kind of a conservation activity that's really easy cause, you know if you think about cutting down a tree, it's going to take a hundred years for it to grow back, but, when it comes to trying to restore the night sky, all you've got to do is turn the lights off or turn them down and it's back."
This weekend the Emmet County Dark Skies Park will host an evening dedicated to stargazing. You don't need a telescope. The program is aimed at inviting the novice sky watcher to learn about the night sky. Adams says it's important to introduce more people to the Dark Skies movement; for their own recreation and for the good of the program. Adams says one of the questions she gets the most from people is how can they can get neighbors to turn off their lights. She says education is the best approach, "You have to be a good neighbor, and I think one of the main things that you can do is share information. You can't go out with a BB gun which is what a lot of people say; you know, "can I just shoot out their lights?" You know the people are just kidding but, you have to really make it something a person wants to do and help to educate them about why it matters."
In the meantime, Adams says there are a number of things people can do at their own homes. "You can start as a homeowner and inventory the light in your own home, on your own property. What kind of light is spilling out of your house into the night. Is it trespassing your neighbors and how can you address that light. But then community wise, we're working with townships and of course at the county level, looking at the lighting they kind of govern, and deciding on it. Does it need to be capped? Does it, where does it need to be focused? Do we even need the light there. And once that kind of work starts to happen there's a certain element of; there's a community that shows up."
The Dark skies program this weekend is scheduled for Saturday at Petoskey's Bayfront park. That night, Adams says she'll introduce a community wide dark sky challenge planned for next year. Harbor Springs and Petoskey will compete in what's being called "lights out across the bay" and Mackinaw City and St. Ignace will compete in "lights out across the straits" to see which community can essentially create more darkness on a given night during the year. Adams says it's an effort to bring more awareness to the issue of light pollution and how it encroaches on one of Michigan's most beautiful resources, the night sky.
Information about Michigan's Dark Sky Park and Dark Sky programming is at www.emmetcounty.org/darkskypark/
The Emmet County Dark Skies park is one of only nine such parks in the nation. It's become the go-to spot for sky watchers in Michigan. Mary Adams, the Program Director for the Park says the park has become as an essential part of local culture, "Why is the dark sky important to us as a resource. It's not because from here at Emmet county we're going to launch a space program. It's that, it's fundamental to a basic education. Understanding what the star world it's coming from cultures around the world. The cultures that are indigenous to this area and then how over time through the history of humanity how it has grown and changed."
Adams talks a lot about how the night sky can encourage curiosity and help kids learn about science, math and culture. She says it's also becoming more in vogue as communities go green. She insists that star watchers and light lovers can coexist. She says it's a matter of using lights only when and where you need them. And pointing the lights toward the ground instead of the sky. She makes it sound like common sense; allowing for healthy night time recreation and saving resources at the same time.
"It's kind of a conservation activity that's really easy cause, you know if you think about cutting down a tree, it's going to take a hundred years for it to grow back, but, when it comes to trying to restore the night sky, all you've got to do is turn the lights off or turn them down and it's back."
This weekend the Emmet County Dark Skies Park will host an evening dedicated to stargazing. You don't need a telescope. The program is aimed at inviting the novice sky watcher to learn about the night sky. Adams says it's important to introduce more people to the Dark Skies movement; for their own recreation and for the good of the program. Adams says one of the questions she gets the most from people is how can they can get neighbors to turn off their lights. She says education is the best approach, "You have to be a good neighbor, and I think one of the main things that you can do is share information. You can't go out with a BB gun which is what a lot of people say; you know, "can I just shoot out their lights?" You know the people are just kidding but, you have to really make it something a person wants to do and help to educate them about why it matters."
In the meantime, Adams says there are a number of things people can do at their own homes. "You can start as a homeowner and inventory the light in your own home, on your own property. What kind of light is spilling out of your house into the night. Is it trespassing your neighbors and how can you address that light. But then community wise, we're working with townships and of course at the county level, looking at the lighting they kind of govern, and deciding on it. Does it need to be capped? Does it, where does it need to be focused? Do we even need the light there. And once that kind of work starts to happen there's a certain element of; there's a community that shows up."
The Dark skies program this weekend is scheduled for Saturday at Petoskey's Bayfront park. That night, Adams says she'll introduce a community wide dark sky challenge planned for next year. Harbor Springs and Petoskey will compete in what's being called "lights out across the bay" and Mackinaw City and St. Ignace will compete in "lights out across the straits" to see which community can essentially create more darkness on a given night during the year. Adams says it's an effort to bring more awareness to the issue of light pollution and how it encroaches on one of Michigan's most beautiful resources, the night sky.
Information about Michigan's Dark Sky Park and Dark Sky programming is at www.emmetcounty.org/darkskypark/