Carrickalinga’s bid to become Australia’s first Dark Sky Community wins Yankalilla District Council support

The night sky on this beach south of Adelaide looks set to become a global ecotourist attraction – and turning out the lights has the backing of the council and community.

Carrickalinga’s bid to become Australia’s first Dark Sky Community has won the support of Yankalilla District Council, with a new lighting code the next step in the application process.

All 36 street lights will be upgraded, with the assistance of SA Power Networks, to prevent artificial light bleeding into the sky, which interferes with the view of the stars.

Ratepayers will be given time to upgrade lighting on their property to less wasteful, more targeted and energy-efficient forms.

That involves shielding floodlights, directing light down to the ground, replacing broken or non-functioning lights with motion sensors, removing lights that are not needed, or just replacing existing white light bulbs with longer lasting LEDs in the amber colour range rather than white.

The nature-loving beachside community is embracing the opportunity that was originally presented by visiting scientist Dr Sharolyn Anderson in the summer of 2019-20.

Based in Colorado, US, in the National Park Service’s natural sounds and night skies division, Ms Anderson was on the lookout for a local case study.

She was visiting her friend and former colleague Dr Sheryn Pitman, who has a shack at Carrickalinga, and the pair hatched a plan to protect the dark sky and stars above.

“Light pollution is simply the presence of unwanted inappropriate, or excessive artificial lighting,” she said. “The good news is that light pollution is easy to fix.”

Dr Anderson says it’s a “win-win-win” because there are benefits to human health, wildlife and the environment through energy savings, as well as eco-tourism and astronomy.

Sleep disorders, obesity, breast cancer, and depression have links to light pollution, Dr Anderson said. Wildlife also suffers, because artificial light disturbs predator/prey relationships, foraging, mating and reproduction. One example is the bogong moth, added to the endangered species list in part because light pollution draws it away from its natural migratory path. But dark skies support a healthy nocturnal ecosystem, with no drawbacks when it comes to public safety.

“There is a myth or misperception that more light is better,” Dr Anderson said, “but bad lighting is detrimental to our safety.”

The best approach is to light the ground only, so people can see where they are walking while minimising glare. That way they can maintain their “night vision” and also see what’s around them.

The centre of the Milky Way as seen from Wirrina, near Carrickalinga. Picture: The Backyard Universe

Carrickalinga Ratepayers Association president Kim Baker said he does have a telescope, but visitors are wowed by what can be seen with the naked eye.

“We have friends who stay with us and they walk out the deck and go, ‘wow, we can’t believe the sky’ and the kids can’t believe it; they’re city kids and they don’t get out very often,” he said.

“When they come out to Carrickalinga they can see shooting stars, the Milky Way and the Southern Cross.”

SA Heart of Darkness: A star trail captured at Swan Reach Conservation Park by River Murray Dark Sky Reserve committee member Andrew Cool

When the new council lighting code is ready, it will be circulated for public consultation. With widespread community support, Carrickalinga’s application can then proceed to the International Dark Sky Association in Tuscon, Arizona for approval.

Then Carrickalinga will join the growing list of certified International Dark Sky Communities, which are found mainly in the US, but also in other countries such as Japan, Scotland and Germany.