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Audubon CT Sharon: Light Pollution & its Effect on Birds, Wildlife & Human Health

February 26 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Join us in a three-part Policy Potluck series where we’ll explore current local, state, and national legislation around birds and conservation, climate, and the actions we can take to support select bills and/or policies. Each program will feature speakers who are experts on their respective topics and a Q&A session. Bring your favorite dish to pass!
Millions of birds pass through Connecticut every spring and fall on their way to and from their summer nesting grounds. Because our state is located along the Atlantic Flyway, many birds use our shorelines and green spaces to rest and refuel during their trip. But light pollution has wreaked havoc on our night sky. Artificial light emitted by our homes, buildings, streetlights, bridges, and other structures can confuse and disorient birds, causing them to land near buildings, crash into windows, and/or circle around for hours until they drop from exhaustion. The result is catastrophic: There are over 1 billion bird deaths in North America each year. Light pollution also impacts other wildlife, human health, and energy waste.
Please come to learn about the problem and what could be done to mitigate the damage in your home and community.
  • Fee: FREE
  • Suitable for ages 15+
  • Online pre-registration required.

Craig Repasz is the Chair and co-founder of Lights Out Connecticut. LOCT is a statewide special project of Menunkatuck Audubon Society. Craig is also President of the Friends of Stewart B McKinney NWR, an organization devoted to supporting this important refuge. He is past president of the New Haven Bird Club, currently serving as their Conservation Chair. He is past conservation chair of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. He has been the volunteer coordinator for the Connecticut Bird Atlas for six years. He enjoys backpacking and conducts Mountain Birdwatch surveys for the Vermont Center of Ecostudies, focusing on the Bicknell’s Thrush and other high elevation species.

Leo Smith is the Northeast Regional Director and Connecticut Chapter Chair of DarkSky. He works strategically to protect the night across the United States by integrating Dark Sky lighting principles into national building codes. He developed language used to amend the CT State Building Code to cover parking lot lighting and introduced two code change proposals to NY State Energy Code in 2019. He was a member of the DarkSky International board of directors (2004-2016) and voting member of the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Roadway Lighting Committee (2006-2019), serving on its Standard Practice and Residential Street Lighting subcommittees. He is a long-time resident of Suffield, CT.

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