Discussions

On Sunday September 4, the official signing of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Dark Sky Preserve designation for Spruce Woods Provincial Park. It will be done at a public ceremony at the Kiche Manitou Visitors Centre. It starts at 7pm. It will be followed by public observing and a laser tour of the night sky. This is the first DSP in Manitoba!!  
 
Work on making Spruce Woods a DSP has been over 10 years in the making. In 2011 it was interrupted buy the floods. But with the work of RASC Winnipeg, Spruce Woods and Manitoba Parks it has become a reality.  
 
What is a Dark Sky Preserve? It's an area where night lighting is controlled to restrict un-wanted lighting, light that go in the sky essentially. That is by using full cut-off enclosures and other lighting measures. As you know Spruce Woods is really dark at night with very little light pollution and with this designation it will stay that way. What will happen now, the park will promote and have programs that will educate and explore the dark skies. The dark skies are also very beneficial for the wildlife in the park.  
 
https://rasc.ca/lpa/spruce-woods  
https://rasc.ca/lpa/application-and-cgol  
https://www.gov.mb.ca/sd/parks/education-and-interpretation/event-listings.html W ->

This is wonderful news!

https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=56180&posted=2022-08-31  
 
It's also been out in the media today.

Very interesting I would like to be there .

That was an awesome event. I just want to thank them all specially the astronomist who did the Lazer show. I could not grab his name. I appreciate if someone let me know his name.  
Special thanks to people who brought their telescope, the people who baked and prepared the refreshments, and all the people who were involved to make the park a dark sky area.  
The Aurora happening was a bonus wonderful event too.  
 
Edited by Deb1, 2022-09-05 00:34:03

is Gerry and he is awesome!! Glad you made it out and had a great time. Having this special designation in our backyard is great.

anyone is looking at new lighting for your home or property, look in www.rasc.ca/lpa for recommended dark sky friendly lighting. Basically any light that goes in the sky is useless and contributes to light pollution. Full cutoff fixtures are better at putting the light where you need it.  
 
While Spruce Woods is dark sky compliant, many homes and communities around the park are not. So if everyone makes the changes and encourages their communities we can keep Spruce Woods dark and also helps their community.