Help us promote night sky-related activities and provide community support for astronomy events.
With continued urban expansion, our dark night skies are disappearing. The Basin and Range Dark Night Sky Cooperative is working to preserve the dark night skies in the Great Basin region, and we need your help!
Consider some of the actions below and how you could best engage with our community of night sky advocates. Have questions? Contact us or follow us on Facebook for the latest updates on our advocacy efforts.
- Attend Town Meetings: Start a dialog among communities throughout the Basin & Range and along its margins. Learn about success stories and discover opportunities.
- Lighting Education: Show the benefits of dark-sky friendly lighting through pilot demonstrations, mobile kiosks at community events, and real-world examples.
- Invite the World: Let people know of the outstanding stargazing opportunities by publishing regular night events and marking night sky viewpoints on maps and making them stargazing friendly.
- Celebrate the Night: Encourage star parties, full moon walks, meteor watching, nocturnal wildlife listening, nighttime photography, learning astronomy, campfire programs, and retelling of star stories.
- Measure Progress: This is one environmental problem that can be addressed without difficulty. It is possible to not only prevent future harm, but to actually restore the night. Measuring the quality of the night sky can show immediate progress.
- Involve the Arts: Already known for its daytime landscapes that draw artists to the Basin & Range, another realm awaits at night to capture the creativity of poets and painters.
- Dark Sky Parks: Federal and State Parks and Lands can attain certification by the International Dark Sky Association (DA) that demonstrate their commitment to sustainable outdoor lighting.
- Dark Sky Communities: Encourage and support towns pursuing International Dark Sky Community certification. Highly visible projects, like dark-sky friendly Main Streets, can show that such conservation can look great and guide the way to a starrier future.
- Rally Partners: A multitude of partners can find inspiration in a Basin & Range Dark Sky Cooperative – from NASA, astronomy clubs, and nearby universities to tourism boards, heritage associations, and utility companies.
Best Practices in Approaching Communities for Dark Sky Conservation
