DarkSky International has launched a range of free lighting policy templates for use by municipalities and local and regional governments to help them tackle light pollution.
Available on DarkSky’s website, the resources aim to offer practical guidance to mitigate the negative impacts of light pollution, enhance community safety, promote sustainability, and lower energy costs, said DarkSky International.
The templates have been developed with input from experts in lighting design, environmental ecology, and urban planning, it added. They are tailored for immediate use by municipal and regional governments and are designed to align with the five principles of Responsible Outdoor Lighting (ROLAN).
These are the landmark set of guidelines created and adopted by DarkSky International and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) in 2020, and to which the ILP is also a signatory.
These principles advocate for installing lighting only when necessary, directing it precisely to intended areas, maintaining appropriate light levels, utilising controls to dim or turn off lights after hours, and opting for warmer-coloured light sources to minimise negative environmental impacts.
The templates are available for free to download. To access them, you simply need to agree to the terms and conditions and complete the registration process.
Separately, DarkSky International has announced that trailblazing Italian lighting designer Chiara Carucci is the winner of this year’s DarkSky Awards for her commitment to and passion for environmental protection.
The awards are run by DarkSky International to recognise dark sky advocates from around the world, who are working to protect the night from light pollution.
Carucci was named as the first ever winner to receive the coveted ‘Wildlife Night Watch’ award. The accolade is awarded to individuals whose decisive actions have been instrumental in conserving and protecting terrestrial and/or aquatic wildlife species sensitive to artificial light at night, DarkSky International said.
“Being recognised by DarkSky International is a huge accomplishment, at such a fantastic period in my life,” Carucci said.
Carucci’s ground-breaking work in lighting the Collepardo Caves near Rome (pictured in the main image) was profiled in Lighting Journal at the beginning of 2023 (‘Stewards of nature’, February 2023, vol 88 no 2).
Her work in the Swedish city of Eskilstuna also this autumn won second prize in the LUCI Association ‘Cities & Lighting Award’.
Her designs saw the city’s Hamngatan and MDU plaza being totally refreshed and rejuvenated, with mitigating skyglow again a key focus.
You will be able find out more about this project, and the other LUCI Association winners, in the November/December of Lighting Journal – with Eskilstuna also the cover image – which is due to be landing with members imminently.
Image: the Collepardo Caves, by Ph Jansin & Hammarling
