Light Pollution Workshop
Trinity College Dublin
Friday, 26th April 2024, 10am
Thanks to funding from Community Foundation Ireland, we hosted a dedicated light pollution workshop targeting policy at Trinity College Dublin. Hosted by our Chairperson, Prof Brian Espey, the official address was delivered by Professor Jane Stout, VP for Biodiversity & Climate Action at TCD, and was attended by 40 national stakeholders from various governing bodies.
This impactful address, highlighted light pollution as an environmental stressor, particularly on invertebrates – the building blocks of our ecosystems – and called for consideration on actions to mitigate light pollution, policy changes and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Following Brian’s introductory talk on the context and status of light pollution in Ireland, three expert guest speakers presented their work on the key issues facing our vision to tackle light pollution.
🔹Professor Kevin Gaston from the University of Exeter, discussed the impacts of light pollution on nature, presenting a mitigation hierarchy for dealing with the spread of light pollution.
🔹Lawyer & PhD Researcher Yana Yakushina Ghent University, presented the current status of legislation and policy across Europe, identifying solutions including the incorporation of light pollution into the environmental protection framework.
🔹Dr Hannah Dalgleish, University of Southampton summarised current efforts at policy and legislation in the UK and the challenges misconceptions of darkness and studies on crime and safety.
The talks were followed by a Q & A and Interactive Polls with the invited audience, the results of this and the event recording will be released soon.
