The Wadden are getting darker and darker

[pieter]

The Wadden are getting darker and darker






The Netherlands will cooperate with Germany and Denmark on a dark Wad. This means that there are more and more places where darkness reigns on the Wadden Islands and along the north coast.

"Darkness contributes to the experience of a unique nature experience", according to a collaboration of 43 parties, varying from the national government and Staatsbosbeheer to all kinds of nature organizations. "For example, with a clear sky in Friesland seventy times more stars can be seen than in the Randstad."

The parties point out that less or no artificial light also works well for birds and insects.

At the moment there are two places in the Netherlands where attempts are being made not to use artificial light: the Boschplaat on Terschelling and the Lauwersmeer on the border of Friesland and Groningen. In addition, projects are added on the German Wadden Islands Spiekeroog and Pellworm and on the Danish island of Møn.
Dark Sky Park

"In Germany they have been working for a while to become certified as a Dark Sky Park. In Denmark they are also busy," says Sonja van der Graaf of the partnership at Omrop Fryslân. "We have come together to bundle our initiatives so that we can keep the darkness over a larger area. Make it darker than it is now."

The program still has some feet in the ground. Van der Graaf mentions the request to entrepreneurs to stop lighting their company buildings. "We also want to exchange knowledge," she says. "because you have to know what to do to get darkness".

Sometimes it is not that complicated. For example, the municipality of Hollands Kroon - in the head of North Holland - is replacing more than 1300 old lamp posts with luminescent markings on bicycle paths. The port of Delfzijl dims the lighting in the evening and at night. And the municipality of Ameland is working with Philips on street lighting that scatters much less.


The Wadden Islands area

[Jaga]

This looks like a really beautiful area. So there are some positives of Coronavirus if I may say it, it is just that there are not that many tourists, airplanes, pollution from the plants. So we have better air and we can see the stars.

[pieter]

You see on the map that Kar's Esjberg (Denmark) and Cuxhaven (Lower Saxony, Germany) are also in the Wadden Islands area.

[pieter]

[pieter]

[karl]

Pieter

Interesting your presentation of The Wadden becoming darker and darker. In Dänmark, as with your nederland, the Wadden is very well protected in most instances, with some exceptions that are difficult to control. One of course is the manufacturing area in Esbjerg and Harbour. For each is very well lighted on a 24/7 basis for the reason of the Harbour area is a requirement and the manufacturing area is for both operational reasons and safety of property and people.

The other situation is what is locally called, The Black Sun. This is the migration bird population that seasonally whilst on their migration path, land on various sections of the Wadden to rest and eat on the little creatures that populate the mud flats. The other is the dark coloured starlings that are simply amazing with their formations, those little fellows in the thousands, will block out the sun at times whilst forming to land or just over looking what ever they do..

www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jul/11/marshes-mud-flats-and-migrating-birds-on-denmarks-wadden-sea

Karl