Mayo Dark Skies project highlights threat of light pollution on biodiversity

SCIENTISTS attribute the frightening scale of Ireland’s biodiversity loss to many societal changes, including the increasing development of green spaces for housing and industry, and the widespread use of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture.

However, Georgia MacMillan, PhD researcher and development officer for Mayo Dark Sky Park, believes that there is one crucial factor missing from the conversation around Ireland’s biodiversity crisis - light pollution.

Light pollution can have a disruptive effect on wildlife, as well as human health, tourism, and society’s efforts to conserve energy and combat climate change.

“Friends of Mayo Dark Skies is a volunteer-led group committed to reducing light pollution and supporting Mayo Dark Sky Park at Wild Nephin National Park. Mayo Dark Sky Park is accredited by Dark Sky International, which is the world’s leading authority on light pollution and the biosphere equivalent of UNESCO,” Georgia explains.

“Streetlights in Ireland are on all night. That adds up to around 4,000 hours per year for every streetlight in the country. That’s harmful not just in terms of our energy use, but also in how it interferes with the natural habits of animals and insects that are so crucial to maintaining a working ecosystem.

“The day-night cycle is important for all animals. People don’t realise, for instance, that many of our fruit and vegetable pollinators are nocturnal. Many migratory birds use starlight to navigate too, and lunar phases influence aquatic species such as salmon and silver eel. Excessive artificial light causes confusion and creates a barrier to some of these natural processes.”

Georgia has been an active campaigner against light pollution in Ireland for more than a decade.

In 2015, following the example of Galloway Forest Park in Western Scotland, the first national park in the UK to achieve Dark Sky status, Georgia worked with other volunteers to form the Friends of Mayo Dark Skies. A year later, the group applied to Dark Sky International to officially designate Mayo’s Wild Nephin National Park as an International Dark Sky Park, under management of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

“To get an accreditation from Dark Sky International you must first prove that you’ve been working to proactively address the threats of light pollution to wildlife and restore the night-time environment by hosting educational events. Thankfully, Mayo Dark Sky Park received its gold tier accreditation in May 2016,” says Georgia, whose work has led her to become a full-time member of staff at Wild Nephin National Park, and a PhD scholar with University of Galway researching community and local authority engagement strategies for Dark Sky projects.

In 2023, the Friends of Mayo Dark Skies became national finalists in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards in recognition of the group’s efforts to engage Mayo County Council with practical proposals for reducing light pollution.

Indeed, using funds from the Heritage Council Community Funding initiative, the group had enlisted lighting specialists and experts in ecology so that it could better understand how the town of Newport at the fringe of Wild Nephin National Park could be appropriately lit to reduce the impact on local wildlife, as well as save on energy costs.

“Before, light pollution from Newport was visible over 20km away. Also, at the time, the local authority was in the process of retrofitting the streetlights with white LEDs, which are designed to simulate full daylight. We provided a detailed analysis and a lighting masterplan with guidelines on how to light the streets differently and use a warmer colour for the LEDs, which are better for the environment.

“We hope the work in Newport will serve as a model for towns and villages across the country to follow,” says Georgia.

“Becoming finalists in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards really helped us to share our work and demonstrate how other communities can restore their dark skies.”

As a community group, the Friends of Mayo Dark Skies continues to grow, with representatives now active along the west coast of Mayo, in Newport, Mulranny and Ballycroy, while similar groups are also forming such as Erris at Night on the Blacksod Peninsula. The group co-hosts training courses in collaboration with Mayo Dark Sky Park; for people interested in becoming ambassadors and volunteers, as well as events to educate business leaders in the tourism industry on how the movement can benefit them.

“Our flagship event is the Mayo Dark Sky Festival, led by the communities of Newport, Mulranny and Ballycroy. This is an annual three-day event with something for everyone - whether you’re into astronomy and science, ecology and nature walks, or arts and culture. All of it happens over a weekend. “

This year’s Mayo Dark Sky Festival will happen from November 1 to 3.

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage, and the Irish language. More than €6 billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 36 years ago. In 2022 alone, €259.5 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.