Office axed Federal government cuts funding to youth employment centre. PAGE 7 Effort pays off St. Andrew’s congregation fundraising for renovations. PAGE 21 Orchestral offering Chamber group rehearsing for spring concert. PAGE 6
Habs help out charity PAGE 28
Judged the the Judged Judg community aper bbest newsp best newspaper in B.C.in B.C. TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012
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VOL. 23, NO. 139
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Stargazers push for dark skies Initiative focused on connection to natural wonders, reducing greenhouse gases and saving tax dollars BY TOBY GORMAN THE NEWS BULLETIN
The stars have aligned for a group of Nanaimo residents interested in protecting the night sky from light pollution. Members of Nanaimo’s Dark Sky Project met for the first time last week to consider establishing a steering committee dedicated to educating people about the night sky and the benefits of preserving it. Garland Coulson, president of the Nanaimo Astronomy Club, which helped spearhead the project, said reducing light pollution is as much about staying connected to natural
wonders as about saving taxpayers’ money and reducing greenhouse gases. “We have three objectives, and those are to work with our local government, work with stakeholders like local business, and participate in public outreach programs to educate people, especially school children, on the importance of preserving our night skies,” said Coulson. “In urban areas, night skies are almost all but forgotten.” He cites 911 calls made in San Francisco in the 1990s after a major earthquake. With power outages throughout the city, residents thought a silver cloud was the result of the disaster and reported it to officials. “It was the Milky Way,” said Coulson.
A major project already on the radar of Nanaimo Dark Sky Project is to work with the city to establish Westwood Lake as a Dark Sky Park, with the intent of being sanctioned by the International Dark-Sky Association. “Westwood Lake is bordered by hills and is at a higher elevation, so it’s not as affected as other nearby areas by light pollution,” said Coulson. “We already do star walks there, which allows us to show people various features in the night sky like constellations using a laser beam. It’s very cool.” ◆ See ‘WESTWOOD’ /4
PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS BOAR
Venus and Jupiter are seen approaching less than three degrees apart (upper left) in an image taken Thursday from Westwood Lake. A group of area residents has created the Nanaimo Dark Sky Project and is suggesting Westwood Lake as a Dark Sky Park. The group has a meeting planned for March 31 at the Beban Park Social Centre to discuss the project.
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