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This is a really great idea. It gets more people on board and spreads the idea out to the wider community. Anything that extends important environmental topics out beyond the school is going to be incredibly impactful.
Working as a teacher in a large town school, I believe that designing your own Dark Sky Place would be a wonderful way to get my students thinking about light pollution and the crucial need to protect our night skies, even when living in a large town.
The first step would be to discuss exactly what a “Dark Sky” is and why these designated areas are incredibly vital for both human well-being and the natural world. We’d explore tangible examples, such as Ireland’s Dark Sky Parks in regions like Mayo or Kerry, using engaging videos and imagery to help the class visualize the beauty of an unblemished night sky. Following this, we’d shift our focus to our immediate urban environment, discussing the sheer volume of artificial light we encounter after dusk and its implications for stargazing, as well as for local wildlife, including nocturnal creatures like bats and various insects. For this I have a photo taken following one of the recent storms from the past year. It shows the sky above our town during a power cut on a clear night after the storm had past. The difference between that photo and the sky when we have power is startling.
In groups, the children would then design their very own ideal “Dark Sky Zone.” This could be anything from a section of a park or the school grounds. They would develop detailed plans or construct miniature models of what the area might look like, illustrating precisely where they would implement light reduction, what types of soft, environmentally conscious illumination they would use, and how they would effectively communicate their vision to the broader community. Subsequently, we would exhibit all their projects throughout the school, aiming to encourage others to think about light pollution.
This type of lesson would hopefully help students get a better understanding of light pollution and the importance of limiting the amount of artificial light that is impacting out sky and wildlife.
This is a very comprehensive lesson. It covers the biodiversity aspect well. It then goes into detail on the impact of light pollution and why dark skies are important. This lesson is aimed at infants but there is a lot of things in this lesson that could be used for older classes as they explore light pollution and biodiversity.
I would take the following approach to exploring biodiversity and the effects of light pollution on that biodiversity.
We’d start with a brainstorm: “What living things are around our school?” We’d then draw a “web of life,” connecting these creatures to show interdependence, highlighting what biodiversity means and why it’s important.
Using magnifying glasses, we’d explore the school grounds. Students would identify plants, insects, and signs of birds and other animals in different habitats. This hands-on survey would build direct experience with local biodiversity.
Using maps and photos, we’d explore local biodiversity hotspots like rivers and parks. Students would research specific local species learning about their habitat and role in the ecosystem.
With that completed we could look at how some of the nocturnal animals and insects are affected by light pollution.We’d discuss our town’s light pollution and revisit local nocturnal animals. One of the videos from this module would show how artificial light disorients insects. We’d also discuss how bright lights can confuse migratory birds.
Students would brainstorm solutions for our town, designing “dark sky friendly” lighting. A culminating project could involve creating an “Action Plan” for the school or a letter to the local council, advocating for protecting our town’s night skies and its biodiversity.The amount of light being produced is definitely increasing in urban areas. With the increase in the amount of development there is a stark increase in the amount of light pollution being produced. The different sources of light pollution are also increasing with more floodlights, street lights and cars. Teaching students about these sources of light and their implications would be a great way to get them thinking about sustainable development and possible solutions to the problem.
I teach in an urban school which has been identified by the CSO as the brightest place in the county. This is something that could be used as a starter for a lesson on light pollution. We could discuss why our area is the worst, or what is causing the pollution.
From there we could explore possible solutions to the problem. Is there a solution or do we need to think differently about lighting in urban areas. The could do a night survey where they identify sources of light pollution. They could see which of those sources are the brightest and how they could be remedied.
We could also explore the biodiversity implications and see how the high levels of light pollution is affecting birds and insects. We could try to find out if the numbers of
Finally we could explore the night sky and look at the impact that light pollution is having on our ability to see the stars at night. One task that students could engage in is a star count. They could choose a part of the night sky and see how many stars are visible. We could compare the areas where students are living and seeing which areas have more or fewer stars in the sky.
Hi Killian,
Highlighting patience is a great piece of advice. Even the best laid plans can be ruined by a cloudy sky. Planning ahead and learning about forecasts could be an additional lesson to help prepare for any star/planet gazing.
Create an observing plan for autumn that shows which planets are visible in the evening sky.
I am taking early October as the rough date for my plan and I’m focusing on the planets that should be visible to the naked eye during clear skies.
Venus and Jupiter
On early October mornings this year both Venus and Jupiter should be visible on clear days. This is an excellent opportunity for students to spend some time getting up and out early to see two of the brightest planets. Venus stands out on account of being such a large bright object in the sky due to its proximity to us. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and for that reason it is easy to see and will bo high in the southern sky during early October mornings.
The Moon and Saturn
The Moon will be low in the sky in October and will be very close to Saturn. Any students who are able to get hold of a telescope or decent binoculars will be able to see Saturn’s bright rings during a clear October sky.
We can discuss the planets and moon in more detail in class. Any students that went out can pass on what they noticed. Students with a telescope might have seen some of Jupiter’s many moons. The conversation around the planets might even encourage others to go out the following night/early morning and see for themselves.Hi Jennifer,
That seems like a great lesson. Allowing time for the students to analyse the data and come up with their own conclusions would really reinforce their learning. By the time comes for the analysis to take place they might have already come up with some ideas and theories of their own.
3. Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
For this lesson I would first of all find out the students prior knowledge in this area. They might be aware of landmarks in the direction of the sun rise or sunset. They might be able to say the sun is in their eyes on the way to and from school. Or they might know the directions and be able to point towards East and West
As once as this has been established, we can go about exploring the matter more scientifically. To do this I would suggest to the class that we make a map of the school and check where the sun is in relation to the school at different times of the day.
We could measure once in the morning, again at midday and one last time before going home. This would give us three points to draw information from.
Students can then observe this over a number of days to see if their original result matches. There might also be days with heavy clouds which could raise some conversations about what to do on days when we can’t see the sun.
With this observation we can then come together and discuss our findings. Did the sun always rise and set in the same direction? Did the time of day have an impact on where the sun was? Will this always be the case? We can then look at what happens over a longer period of time and find out the effect seasons have on the rising and setting of the sun.
Research Question: What effect does melting Ice Caps have on our planet?
To start I would do an ice melt experiment where kids place equal numbers of ice cubes in two bowls, one with water and one empty, and time how long it takes for the ice to melt in each bowl, simulating the impact of ocean water around polar ice. The second thing we would do is track the temperature over a period of time. We would track daily temperatures for a month using a thermometer and create a graph to visualize temperature changes, discussing how rising temperatures impact polar regions. This would also lead into discussions on differences between weather and climate and the changing temperatures of the Seasons. Research polar animals such as polar bears and penguins, creating posters that show how these animals are affected by melting ice and changing climates, and present findings to the group. The final aspect would be a group art project to design a polar Ice Cap artwork that represented the effects of the melting ice caps on humans, animals or other areas of the planet.
That’s a great topic Enda. Deforestation is a very interesting and relevant topic. You could also look at deforestation in a historic context as very few of Ireland’s forests remain due to deforestation over the centuries.
The EO Browser is a free and relatively easy way to get high quality satellite images that are specific to certain areas. With the EO browser images can be chosen by satellite and then further refined by areas such as temperature, ice levels, vegetation levels and more. The data goes back a long way and is great for comparing changes to areas over time. With the EO Browser we can show deforestation levels, CO2 rise, Temperature rise and much more. This can help make difficult concepts much easier to understand and give a visual representation of the problems our planet faces. I would encourage fellow colleagues to use this tool to support any teaching they were doing about Climate Change as it provides substantial evidence that students can use to back up claims that might be in doubt. Not only can the students be shown the data but they could also be allowed to explore and research this for themselves. This promotes independence and critical thinking in the area of climate change and is one of the reason I think that the EO browser is a significant tool in the teaching of the climate and environment.