The award-winning Gower countryside, that helps draw millions of visitors to Swansea every year, has now joined an exclusive international club that celebrates the beauty to be found when the sun goes down.
Gower is the first area of south Wales to secure the designation as an International Dark Sky Community The accolade comes from DarkSky International, a world-wide organisation dedicated to showcasing the wildlife, environmental and tourism benefits of night-time in the countryside.
Swansea Council’s cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, Andrew Stevens, said: “We are thrilled to have achieved Dark Sky Community status. As a Gower farmer I know what the sky at night looks like. It’s magical because you can see so much more of the stars and the planets than you can from well-lit towns and cities. Gower by day is amazing, Gower by night offers whole new worlds.” For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here.
He added: “Next year, Gower celebrates the 70th anniversary of becoming Britain’s first area of outstanding natural beauty. This latest accolade puts us on an international map that includes hundreds of locations on five continents, all highlighting the special beauty and benefits for wildlife and humans that can be found in dark sky places.”
According to Dark Sky International, 99% of Europe and the USA now lives under light-polluted skies. Every single species is impacted by light pollution – including humans. It says that, often, outdoor lighting is over lit, pointing horizontally and upwards into the sky, and left on when not needed. Small changes to lighting improves the night sky, while saving money, reducing carbon emissions and making a huge difference to wildlife.
Securing Dark Sky Community status is not easy and the success has been a joint effort between the council, local groups like the Gower Society and communities, as well as Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government. For example, to help boost the dark skies initiative, the council retrofitted all 1,641 street lights on Gower with Dark Skies-compliant LED lanterns so that people can see where they’re going at night with less glare than usual lamps.
It also introduced special planning guidance that ensures dark sky-friendly lighting in all new developments on Gower and Swansea. Paul Lloyd, chair of the Gower Advisory Group, said work started on securing Dark Sky status six years ago and since then there’s been real growth in understanding the opportunities it offers to local communities.
He added: “Not only has there been growing awareness of the benefits of dark skies on Gower which encourages and supports nocturnal wildlife activity, but there’s also the tourism and educational opportunities available to humans too. Knowledge of the beauty of Gower by day has become second nature over the years. Now visitors and locals alike are learning about the different worlds on the ground and in the sky they can discover when the sun goes down.
“Securing Dark Sky Community Status from Dark Sky International has not come about by accident. It’s been a brilliant joint effort over a number of years by lots of individuals, groups and organisations. I want to thank them for their support in making this happen.” Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news. You will receive updates from us daily.