Welcome to The Backyard Naturalists, the award-winning podcast about anything and everything connected with nature, heard in 115 countries, 50 states, and all throughout the Carolinas. Honored with the Best of the Weeklies podcast award by the readers of the Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly, we bring you engaging and educational content each week.

In this episode, hosts Lori and Debbie are joined by Christopher Page for an enlightening discussion about light pollution and its impacts. Christopher reminisces about his childhood in North Carolina when the night sky was filled with stars, but laments the increasing light pollution and the light domes over cities at night. The hosts share their own memories of seeing the Milky Way with less light pollution.

Christopher introduces the Bortle scale, which measures light pollution from 1 to 9, rating Charlotte as an 8 or 9 and Matthews as a 7. They discuss an Audubon initiative aimed at reducing city lights during bird migration.

Christopher also shares his experiences photographing the northern lights in Virginia and the Milky Way on the coast, noting the challenges of capturing faint nebulae and star clusters. The conversation touches on how light pollution affects animals like sea turtles, migratory birds, and dung beetles, which use stars for navigation.

To help reduce light pollution, Christopher offers practical tips such as using motion sensors, shielding lights, and opting for warmer colored lights. The hosts and Christopher emphasize the importance of preserving dark skies and share fond memories of clearer night skies from their childhoods.

Christopher also provides information on how to access his astrophotography online and offers astronomy resources. Before concluding, he extends his photography services to listeners.

Tune in to learn more about the significance of dark skies and how we can all contribute to reducing light pollution.

If you have ideas for topics that you'd like us to pursue, send us a message either on our Facebook page or our website. We would really like to hear from you.

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Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com/. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists. We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don't forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

While recording the Backyard Naturalists podcast, Debbie and Laurie enjoy coffee provided by the Good Cup Coffee Company in Matthews, North Carolina. Follow Good Cup Coffee on Instagram and look for them at the Matthews Community Farmer's Market this Saturday morning.