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Kaikōura dairy farmers are doing their bit to protect the night sky and endangered seabirds.
A collaboration between local farmers and the Kaikōura Dark Sky Trust has shown dairy shed lighting can be upgraded to reduce light pollution, while providing the lighting needed to allow workers to operate safely at night.
The project follows the Kaikōura district being granted international dark sky sanctuary status in September 2024 and the council passing new lighting rules in the Kaikōura District Plan in the same year.
The motivation behind gaining dark sky status was to protect the Hutton’s shearwater seabirds / tītī, which can become disorientated by bright lights.
Kaikōura District Council chief executive Will Doughty said small changes can make a big difference.
‘‘It’s been fantastic to see local farmers willing to get behind this initiative and trial a different approach.
‘‘The results speak for themselves and demonstrate what can be achieved when our community works together to protect Kaikōura’s special night sky.”
Kaikōura Dark Sky Trust project co-ordinator Colette Doughty said she has been amazed by the support from local farmers.
‘‘We've also discovered that some farmers have stopped using their outdoor lights altogether, with no impact on their operations.’’
The project employed three basic principles, including directing lighting down, using warm light and avoiding unnecessary light spill.
Fully shielded fittings helped to keep light below the horizontal, while 3000 Kelvin LED fittings were used, which met the council’s outdoor lighting provisions.
It resulted in reducing the amount of light spilling into the sky and surrounding areas.
Fonterra Tasman Marlborough regional manager Sam McCulloch said the initiatives is an example of how simple changes can deliver positive environmental outcomes.
‘‘By demonstrating what can be achieved in a real farming environment, we hope the project encourages other farmers to consider whether small changes to their outdoor lighting could make a difference too.”
Local electrician Dan Farr, of Dan The Sparky, was engaged to source and install replacement lights at the participating farms.
“Retrofitting existing farm lighting to meet the dark sky standards doesn’t need to be a big or expensive job.
‘‘In many cases it’s simply a matter of replacing the existing floodlight with a fully shielded, warm LED fitting.”
Participating farms included Sequoia Dairy Shed and Rockwood Dairy Shed, which are both owned by Mylor Dairy Ltd, and the Boyd Dairy Shed on Old Beach Road.
Mylor Dairy Ltd operations manager Justin Hocking said he was impressed at the results.
“This project has done a fantastic job at reducing the light pollution from our two dairy sheds without hindering our operations.
‘‘In fact, there are a couple of hidden benefits such as reduced electricity usage and a far less intrusive light, which the workers and cows enjoy.”
Another local dairy farmer Simon Mackle said he used to think the cows needed to be illuminated out in the cowshed yard.
On foggy mornings, he could see hundreds of Hutton’s shearwaters ‘‘circling above the lights’’ in their confusion.
Turning the outside lights off had made no difference to the cow flow, he said.
‘‘I feel the lights were causing light pollution, affecting our neighbours and how well people in Kaikoura can see the night sky.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
