As two more sites in northern England and Scotland earn Dark Sky status, Paul F Cockburn hears how they achieved the award.
Light pollution has been a growing problem for the past century, which has seen our view of the night sky obscured by the glow of artificial lighting.
One ongoing response to light pollution has been the recent identification, recognition and protection for future generations of areas around the world which are still largely free of significant light pollution. Since 2006, the US-based International Dark Sky Association (IDA) has established an International Dark Sky Places programme classifying Dark Sky Parks, Reserves and Communities; the first area in the UK to attain Dark Sky status was Galloway Forest Park in 2009. Most recently, Northumberland National Park joined with neighbouring Kielder Water and Forest Park to create a single Dark Sky Park.
TONY GATES
“Tranquility has been recognised as one of the main special qualities of the Northumberland National Park (NNP),” explains NNP Chief Executive Tony Gates. “That sense of the unspoilt, which is something that we know residents and visitors really value, we felt also extended to the skies.”
So, when applying for Dark Sky Park status, Gates believes they started from a very good base. “We needed to change very little really,” he says. “The survey of our existing skies, which was part of the application, showed we already had a very high level of dark skies, which led to us being designated gold status–the only one outside America.
“That said, our intention was always to ensure we protected the levels of dark skies and, where there were opportunities to enhance them, that we did,” Gates adds. “What we’ve found through this process is that people have really come on board; it’s really tapped into just how much they value the dark skies. We had people voluntarily adjusting the angles of outdoor spotlights, adjusting the fittings.”
An added bow to NNP’s application was that it was jointly made with the neighbouring Kielder Forest Park. “In their case the application was largely driven by the popularity of the Kiedler Observatory, and the sudden realisation that the dark skies were really widely valued.
“It just so happened that the two parks were working on this idea at the same time, so we decided to put our lot together. It didn’t really change the time scales to which we were working; from bringing the proposals together and submitting them to IDA, was about two years’ work, and was done very much as a partnership.”
HEIDI MOTTRAM
The initial inspiration behind attaining Dark Sky status for their Park was simple, according to Chair of the Kielder Water and Forest Park Development Trust, Heidi Mottram–it’s the undoubted success story otherwise known as the Kielder Observatory, opened in 2008.
The Trust–a partnership between the Forestry Commission, Northumbria Water, Calvert Trust, the local authority and other interested parties–has long been looking for new ways to promote economic development in the area, as a way of helping ensure it remains a vibrant, living community.
“The idea really came from the Kielder Observatory, and just grew,” accepts Mottram. “The local community became quite excited about it. At one level I think we already knew that the sky was stunning; that we had a fabulous asset, that it was pretty dark and that the changes required by the lighting audits were generally minor–a large part of the park is uninhabited anyway.
“The engagement of the communities has been lovely,” she adds. “At one primary school, the children really got into it and designed covers for the school’s unshielded lights. They really embraced the whole thing. One of the villages has had its lights replaced with LED units; so there have been some changes, but nothing I would describe as massive.”
Quite early on, the Trust linked up with the application being made by neighbouring Northumberland National Park.“In many respects, that way of working is so embedded here,” Mottram says. “People in these communities recognise that, because they’re so small on their own, it’s often difficult to do anything. The two parks are side by side; it was obvious we should work together, and it was an easy process.”
OLVIN SMITH
“An International Dark Sky Community is a town, city, municipality, or other legally organised community which shows what the IDA describes as ‘exceptional dedication’ to preserving the night sky,” explains Olvin Smith, an amateur astronomer who lives on the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides–since December 2013, the second official Dark Sky Community in the British Isles.
“It started around two years ago when fellow-astronomer Tony Oliver saw that Sark had got the status, and that we should get it as well,” Smith explains. “This led to a meeting which ended up with a core group of four–Tony, Julie Oliphant (owner of the Coll Hotel), Paula Smalley (guest-house owner) and myself taking it forward. We got in touch with the IDA, and had a couple of phone calls to Bob Parks who talked us through the process.
Having purchased a Unihedron meter, Smith completed a light survey around the island.“On several sites I got readings of 21.9 which make our skies some of the darkest in Europe,” he says. “Once we had all the data, with the help of Dark Skies Consultant Steve Owens, Tony put together our application, which was finished last May.
“We had to alter some of the lights to make them point straight down and get commitment from some people to change their outside lights to correct type,” Smith adds. “We also needed to get the Council to endorse our Lighting Plan.”
It’s been very much a “ground up” affair, Smith insists. “We are the only place to achieve an award where the community has done all the work without any outside funding; the money and work came from islanders.”
BOB PARKS
“The system evolves over time to take account of the types of areas where people are interested,” explains Executive Director of the International Dark Skies Association (IDA) Bob Parks, when asked about their Dark Sky Places. “We stared out with just two designations–Reserve and Park, and then we added Community. We’re finding, as we continue to expand the programme, that one size definitely doesn’t fit all; so we’re trying to make adjustments.”
So what are the current technical distinctions between the different kinds of Dark Sky places? “Starting at the larger end of the spectrum, a Reserve is not necessarily required to be protected by a government entity,” Parks says, “so you can develop a Reserve around any property the community and the residents are interested in protecting. A Park specifically has to have public protection, which also ensures it’s not private land. On the municipal end of the spectrum, Community is for townships and cities, places that are incorporated entities.”
Already, however, the IDA is introducing a category called Development of Distinction. “That’s one step down the chain for residential developments which may not be a town or city, but have an interest in protecting the development. We’re actually looking now at another designation, or modifying current ones. We’ve now had two islands that are part of the programme, and in both cases they did not fit in anything except Community because they were protected by natural boundaries; they didn’t really have a buffer zone to make either a Reserve.
“And there are some areas that don’t necessarily have to be in the water to have that same issue,” he adds. “If they are surrounded by public land, they sometimes can’t really incorporate that into the equation as a buffer zone because there isn’t a township or local authority in the area that’s able to sign a declaration of intent to abide by some regulations.
“We don’t look for quantities of designation; we’re not looking to have hundreds of these,” Parks insists. “Any decision is based on the merits of the application. What we look for is extraordinary dedication to the preservation of that area going forward. It doesn’t matter whether the area’s as dark as it possibly can be; what we’re looking for is a community that’s willing to make the changes and have the dedication to try to preserve that for the future.
“These applications take a long time to prepare; they’re not easy,” he adds. “Some people get into them and then find out pretty quickly that these are not a quick path to fame and fortune. Different countries now want to have their own Dark Sky Parks, but the level of cooperation and collaboration required getting all the different parties to agree to something is difficult. It takes a sustained effort by a community over a long period of time.”
When it comes to the UK’s latest three Dark Sky places, Parks admits that he’s not necessarily the best person to explain the details of the awards. “We’re very impressed by the dedication to Dark Sky places within the UK, which I think has more than any other country–that’s pretty impressive. You also have some of the bigger parks, such as Galloway and Brecon Beacons; those are very large parks by European standards.”
VISITING THE UK’S DARK SKY SITES
• BRECON BEACONS NATIONAL PARK (WALES)
www.beacons-npa.gov.uk
Mountain Centre, Libanus, Brecon, Powys, LD3 8ER
01874 623366; www.beacons-npa.gov.uk/contact-us
• EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK (ENGLAND)
www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk
Dulverton Centre, 7-9 Fore Street, Dulverton, TA22 9EX;
01398 323841; NPCDulverton@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk
Minehead Centre, Dunster Steep, Dunster, Minehead, TA24 6SE;
01643 821835; NPCDunster@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk
Lynmouth Centre, The Pavilion, The Esplandade, Lynmouth, EX35 6EQ
01598 752509; NPCLynmouth@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk
• GALLOWAY FOREST PARK (SCOTLAND)
www.forestry.gov.uk/darkskygalloway
01671 402420; galloway@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Galloway Astronomy Centre
Three miles after Monreith village, on A747.
01988 500594; enquiries@gallowayastro.com
ISLE OF COLL (SCOTLAND)
The second island in the British Isles to gain Dark Sky recognition.
http://darkskies.visitcoll.co.uk
c/o The Coll Hotel, Arinagour, Isle of Coll, PA78 6SZ
01879 230334; info@collhotel.com
• NORTHUMBERLAND NATIONAL PARK (ENGLAND)
www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk
Once Brewed Centre, Military Road, Bardon Mill, Hexham, NE47 7AN
01434 344396; tic.oncebrewed@nnpa.org.uk
• SARK (CHANNEL ISLANDS)
The first island in the world to receive Dark Sky recognition.
www.sark.co.uk
Sark Tourist Office, The Avenue, Sark Island, GY10 1SA
01481 832345; office@sark.co.uk
First published in BBC Sky at Night magazine #107 (April 2014).
