In a survey carried out by Banks Peninsula National MP Vanessa Weenink, 85% of nearly 300 respondents supported the initiative.
“There is tremendous community support for a dark sky reserve from people living out there,” Weenink said.
Dark sky areas have limited light pollution, increasing the visibility of stars and supporting conservation, human health and tourism while reducing energy use.
It would involve residents being more mindful of light use at night.
This could include buying dimmer lightbulbs, using shielded light fixtures and minimising use of outdoor lighting.
Weenink has been helping Akaroa Stargazing owner Luca Devescovi with getting the message out and gauging interest from the community.
Said Devescovi: “This is exactly what we wanted to hear. Personally, it’s really difficult to see the drawback on this, so, it’s good to see there’s a lot of people that see it the same way we do.”
Measurements of the sky’s darkness are being carried out using a sky quality meter, which have been positive so far, Devescovi said.
The meter measures up to 22mps. One measurement on Banks Peninsula was 21.54mps.
The higher the measurement the better, Devescovi said.
“That means that light pollution here in Banks Peninsula doesn’t have a huge impact because of the darkness of the night sky.”
Applying for dark sky reserve certification is the next step, with Devescovi hoping for a response from Dark Sky International by the end of the year.
