Every college and university needs appropriate outdoor lighting to provide a reassuring environment for night-time activities. Walkers on campus at night need glare-free wayfinding lighting on paths to destinations. Both the students and their families at home need to have confidence in the campus lighting. Additional benefits include lower energy costs, better sleep and improved public health, healthier ecosystems including all plants and animals, and the ability to see and study the Milky Way and the starry sky.
College campuses are well equipped to address a pervasive problem like light pollution due to the presence of young, environmentally conscious and diverse students, expertise across several disciplines, and potential access to funding. Astronomy courses are extremely popular among students from all backgrounds, and stargazing events on the main campus or at the campus observatory are popular with students and members of surrounding communities.
In this workshop we will provide participants with professional development resources and educational materials with the aim of improving outdoor lighting on their campus. In particular, we will introduce the Campus SHINE (Safe and Healthy Illumination for the Nighttime Environment) document that will walk participants through the process of building a team of faculty, staff, and students to assess campus lighting and develop plans to improve it. Participants will learn about advocating for responsible lighting principles and learn methods of quantifying light pollution. Additionally, participants will be provided with examples of campus lighting management plans, student government resolutions, and images of good and bad lighting.
