Preserve Our Night Time Skies

•  Install sensors
• Choose low wattage
• Only light areas you need
• Choose down lights
• Don’t use solar-powered lights that stay on all night
• Abide by by-laws

And here’s why:

It is proven that light pollution affects migrating birds, animals and plants.

An estimated 80% of the Earth’s population is affected by light pollution (The World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness).

Light pollution changes the regular pattern of light (day) and darkness (night). And can cause confusion, disorientation and even death.This natural cycle signals when to eat, sleep, mate and migrate.

Artificial light can attract animals and birds to an area. This means that animals and birds are either exposed to potential predators, steered off their natural migration routes, or they can be killed by the light (like a moth to a flame…). Birds navigate by the stars. Their eyes are ten times as sensitive to light than humans. While lights can throw birds off their migration paths, bird fatalities are more directly caused by the amount of energy the birds waste flying around and calling out in confusion. The exhaustion can then leave them vulnerable to other threats. Tens of thousands of migrating birds are killed every year!

Plants also have natural cycles. Length of day may signal flowering or tell them to go into dormancy. Light pollution can trick plants into thinking that the days are longer (than they actually are), throwing the timing of many of these processes off. Flowering too early can mean flowers are out before their pollinators - affecting both the plant and the pollinators. Artificial lighting means that trees and plants may continue to photosynthesize and grow without resting and respiring - includes algae!

The Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Preserve is the first dark sky preserve in Ontario and Canada. Located in Gravenhurst. An amazing experience for the entire family. The Torrance Barrens.

See Township of GBay’s Dark Sky By- Law 

See Township of Severn’s Dark Sky By-Law - WAITING FOR CALL BACK