A Light Proposal: Restore the Nights of Evanston

About our topic

As the cost of lighting has become cheap, our nights are paying the price. We are generating an ever-brightening world while failing to grasp the dramatic ramifications of turning night in today has on our lives and our world. Thankfully, there is hope. The simple act of awareness is the first step to meaningful change. And awareness is growing. Still, one of the greatest hurdles to a solution remains: how to achieve it.Join me in an exploration of the importance of natural nights and learn actionable ways you can preserve this vital resource.

About the speaker

Ken Walczak is the Senior Manager of Far Horizons at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago – a research and engineering program engaging students, volunteers, and the public in hands-on, participatory science. He has worked on the design and implementation of innovative instruments for light pollution research and has authored numerous papers on the subject. He helped lead the successful international designation of the world’s largest Urban Night Sky Place, The Palos Preserves, southwest of Chicago. He owned a lighting and furniture design company, is a trained photographer, an avid public policy advocate, as well as an experienced science and astronomy communicator. He is a board member of Dark Sky International, co-found the Dark Sky Chicago chapter and an associate member of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).

Natural Habitat Evanston, a program of Climate Action Evanston, is an all-volunteer community group of about 1,300 members, spreading the word on creating habitat for insects, birds, and other wildlife. We aim to change the culture of lawns: leaving your leaves is the simplest first step; the second step is adding a native shrub or tree to shrink your lawn. We show how to transition from turf with low-cost cardboard methods, which keystone native plants to choose for year-round forage, that insects chewing on leaves is a ‘win’ (rather than cause to reach for pesticide), how turning off unnecessary lights saves insect and birds (and human health), and how to make your windows bird-friendly (because if you are going to invite birds to your yard, let them visit safely). We plant a lot of native trees and shrubs, especially at schools and in the 5th Ward.

We encourage people to think outside the lawn with No Mow May. Our Pollinator Pledge is a central focus of all our outreach and education, and a great way to spread the word to your neighbors.

We encourage people to think outside the lawn with No Mow May. Our Pollinator Pledge is a central focus of all our outreach and education, and a great way to spread the word to your neighbors.