10/15/2026
Over the last couple of years, the Super Epic Earth Defenders (SEED), Jessica, and Jason have begun evaluating campus outdoor lighting. The SEED group has also organized two lantern hikes to raise awareness about the importance of preserving nighttime ecology. They’re having a blast building light shade prototypes. Does anyone have an extra Victorian-style lampshade?
On October 26th, they’re presenting a program called Guardians of the Night with Gail Walters from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo. Please join us as we share why dark skies matter and the measures we’re taking around campus to support nighttime ecology.
https://facebook.com/events/s/guardians-of-the-night-why-dar/1399312748485904/
Program description:
Please join us on Monday, October 26th as we explore the importance of nighttime and the vital role darkness plays in healthy ecosystems. From bats and moths to birds, frogs, insects, and nocturnal plants, countless living things depend on natural darkness to feed, navigate, reproduce, rest, and survive. Participants will learn how excessive artificial light can disrupt wildlife, change natural behaviors, and affect the delicate relationships that connect nighttime species.
Birds are an important part of this story. Millions of migratory birds travel at night, using natural cues such as the stars, moon, and Earth’s magnetic field to navigate. Bright lights can attract and disorient migrating birds, increasing the risk of collisions with buildings and exhausting birds already on a long, difficult journey.
We will discuss the international dark sky movement, which is an effort to reduce light pollution by promoting responsible outdoor lighting and protecting naturally dark night skies. Protecting dark skies preserves star visibility, supports wildlife, and reduces unnecessary energy use from excessive artificial light. We’ll then zoom in on local movements, such as the Lights Out campaign ASK launched this fall.
