Dan is a landscape lighting designer and he is on our side. He tries to stay away from “on at dusk off at dawn” sensors. As Dan says, for good design. you need the darkness. You can’t just pump light into an area and call it good lighting. Good lighting is controlled and does not contribute to light pollution. Dan Jobbins is a lighting designer, based out of New York’s beautiful hudson valley. He graduated from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts with a BFA in theatrical lighting design. He has had a 15+ year career designing lighting for theaters up and down the east coast, as well as for high profile events in the New York metropolitan area. During the covid 19 pandemic and resulting shut downs of arts and entertainment venues Dan pivoted toward landscape lighting, securing a position with one of the oldest landscape lighting companies in the Northeast. He later struck out on his own to form Hudson Valley Holidays which started as a holiday lighting company but has grown to include all manner of outdoor and landscape lighting design. Dan takes pride in placing the highest emphasis on quality design and services within Hudson Valley Holidays, a big part of which is striving for Dark Sky compliance. 

Scott Wachter, from the Lighting Industry News Brief (https://naild.org/lighting-industry-news-brief) joins Michael Colligan to bring you the latest news around darkness restoration. Watch for Restoring Darkness Episode 76, out tomorrow. And don't forget to give to The Lighting And Darkness Foundation to fight light pollution. https://restoringdarkness.com/donate 

Just like we’ve been saying all along, Todd doesn’t want to take away everyone's light at night. He just wants people to be mindful and reasonable about lowering light pollution. He removed the carriage light above his own garage many years ago. Sure they look nice and classy, but they blast light everywhere. And just like Christmas lights, they don’t need to be on at three in the morning while everyone’s asleep. Todd Burlet is a Delegate for DarkSky International, which has been the world’s leading authority on light pollution since 1988, and the President and Board Member of Starry Skies North, the Minnesota and Mid-Continent chapter of DarkSky International. Starry Skies North is an all-volunteer 501(c)3 non-profit corporation engaged in educational outreach and advocacy in support of their mission to protect the sky, the earth, and all life from Light Pollution. Todd initiated and leads the Mid-Continent Chapter Incubator, a Starry Skies North initiative to support dark-sky advocates in the mid-continent region, which includes 6 states and two Canadian provinces, by providing them tools, training, online resources, and a support community to assist them in their outreach efforts, and to help launch new DarkSky chapters. Todd is a member of the American Astronomical Society, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Society for Light and Lighting. 

Scott Wachter, from the Lighting Industry News Brief (https://naild.org/lighting-industry-news-brief) joins Michael Colligan to bring you the latest news around darkness restoration. Watch for Restoring Darkness Episode 75, out soon. And don't forget to give to The Lighting And Darkness Foundation to fight light pollution. 

The Lighting And Darkness Foundation is taking on its first project! With your donations (please donate at https://restoringdarkness.com/save-the-night-in-wasatch-back-utah) we can help Shawn and Lisa and the other concerned residents, preserve their Wasatch Back night sky in Utah. Find out what the story is in this podcast. Lisa and Shawn are co-founders of Save Wasatch Back Dark Skies along with several other passionate Wasatch County residents. You can find more information at Savewasatchbackdarkskies.org. Lisa Bahash is an experienced and successful business leader with over 30 years in the automotive industry. While her business acumen has allowed for a successful career, more important to Lisa is her approach to leadership. People and relationships are to be cherished; leadership is a privilege given to those you lead. Outside of her industry, Lisa was on the Board of Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit for several years. She is very passionate about the humane care and treatment of animals and believes that the companionship offered is nature’s sacred gift to humans. Originally from Michigan, Lisa moved to Utah in 2021 as she values the great outdoors and abundant wildlife. Lisa holds a Master of Engineering Management degree from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. While currently retired from her professional career, Shawn Savarino has immersed herself in volunteer opportunities and family. She balances her time between Utah and Texas, her schedule often decided by the football schedule for her alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin. After earning her Master in Professional Accounting degree, Shawn began her career at KPMG as a CPA focused on corporate taxation. That role took her to Prague in the Czech Republic where she undertook many fascinating opportunities, including assisting the Ministry of Finance draft and improve its tax regulations. After spending a decade in the public arm of the profession, Shawn took a position as the CFO for a children’s clothing manufacturer, a role she held for close to ten years before moving with her family to live in Singapore. Beyond her professional career, Shawn has volunteered in various roles including participating on several school boards, chairing multiple large annual fund raisers, and serving as a Child Advocate in the court system. Shawn enjoys seeking new outdoor adventures such as running the Ocean to Ocean race in Thailand, climbing Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia and sleeping under the stars in Utah. Travel, tennis, and time with family and friends are Shawn’s personal passions. 

Michael talks with our guests about the new Smithsonian exhibit, “Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky. It sounds like this exhibit will convince any skeptic of the importance of restoring the night sky. Watch out for a future episode, live from the Smithsonian. Dr. Kimberly Arcand is a leading expert in astronomy visualization and has been a pioneer in 3D imaging, printing, and extended reality applications with astrophysics data. She has worked for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory since 1998. Her current research includes sonification of spatial data, machine learning as applied to image processing, and other intersections of emerging technology and astrophysics. Jill Johnson is an exhibit developer and project manager in the Office of Exhibits at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. I have worked here since 1979—44 years! Seven of those were spent with the Marine Systems Laboratory at the museum. She has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science from Southampton College/Long Island University. Stephen Loring attended Goddard College in Vermont and later the University of Massachusetts in Amherst from whence he got his PhD in 1991. He taught anthropology and northern studies at Middlebury College and the University of South Carolina prior to accepting a job with the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center in 1992 

Join us for our inaugural episode of The Darkness News Update. Scott Wachter, from the Lighting Industry News Brief (https://naild.org/lighting-industry-news-brief) joins Michael Colligan to bring you the latest news around darkness restoration. Watch for future episodes to coincide with Restoring Darkness podcast episodes. 

Michael welcomes a fellow Canadian to the podcast. Michael and Dawn discuss the never ending pursuit of continuous improvement, the interchangeable use of the terms sustainability and energy efficiency (they are NOT the same!), the use of cheap and energy efficient lighting creating more light pollution, and the legal precedents that are inadvertently sustaining light pollution. They even touch on Capitalism and Socialism, but you’ll have to listen to the episode to hear that part. 

A recognized industry leader in circadian lighting design, Dawn is driven by a passion for designing lighting solutions that promote health and wellness. Dawn’s 20-year career is defined by her dedication to continuous improvement and willingness to challenge the status quo. She was one of the first Lighting Designers in Canada to achieve the Certified Lighting Designer (CLD) credential, adding her name to the CLD database among some of the world’s most accomplished designers.

Dr. Randle comes to us from the U.K. based Butterfly Conservation, one of the largest insect conservation organizations in the world. Dr. Randle points out that artificial light at night affects pheromone production in some female moths and sperm count in some males. Along with all the other environmental pressure, light at night has caused a 32% decline in population since the 1970’s. Thanks to the thousands of volunteers and data sets stretching back decades, you can learn all about them in The Atlas Of Britain & Ireland's Larger Moths. Dr. Randle is the ecological lead for Butterfly Conservations’ Big Butterfly Count, an annual UK citizen science survey which helps to assess the health of our environment and connect people to nature. Prior to working for Butterfly Conservation she was a Field Ecologist, working in a range of different habitats, counting and measuring a variety of different plants and animals for scientific research. In her spare time Dr. Randle enjoys riding her horse, photography, star and moon gazing and writing to try to make sense of a crazy world!

Mike comes to us from the North York Moors National Park in the north of England. Mike has done ALOT to fight light pollution in his area. He has: developed a Dark Skies Festival; encouraged businesses to collaborate and to become Dark Skies Friendly; oversaw the application to become an International Dark Sky Reserve from inception to successful designation. He’s even successfully influenced the UK government on lighting policy. He even found the time to appear on Restoring Darkness! Mike is Head of Nature Recovery Projects at the North York Moors National Park, a protected upland landscape and International Dark Sky Reserve in the North of England. As well as delivery of landscape scale nature recovery projects within the Conservation and Climate Change Department, Mike is also the lead officer for Dark Skies at the National Park Authority.