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Waiheke Island groups are wishing on a star to keep the Milky Way clearly in their sight.
The Waiheke Local Board is finalising an application for International Dark-Sky Association accreditation to protect the island’s nightscape, which is heaven for stargazers.
The request, expected to be … View moreWaiheke Island groups are wishing on a star to keep the Milky Way clearly in their sight.
The Waiheke Local Board is finalising an application for International Dark-Sky Association accreditation to protect the island’s nightscape, which is heaven for stargazers.
The request, expected to be submitted by May, is backed by Dark-sky New Zealand, Piritahi Marae, Ngati Paoa Iwi Trust, the Department of Conservation and several community groups on the island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.
Accreditation would highlight the island’s lack of light pollution and help protect dark night skies for future generations, Waiheke resident Nalayini Davies, from Dark-sky New Zealand, told the board.
She said visitors flocked to Waiheke to see the beaches and vineyards but the accreditation could spark a gradual shift towards eco-tourism and sustainability.
“If people come to look at the starry skies, it’s a different kind of people than the 20-somethings that have come here for a hen party.”
Research shows bright lighting at night is harmful to human health and impacts on wildlife, Davies said.
“Turtles come to the shore to lay their eggs and the baby turtles, when they hatch, use moonlight to navigate their way back to the ocean,” she said.
“If there are artificial lights on the shore, they get disoriented, don’t go to the ocean, and they get caught by predators.”
The beauty of the conservation initiative is that light pollution is the easiest type to control, she said.
“If we collectively switch our lights off there’s no light pollution.”
The board is working with the Waiheke Dark Skies Group on the application to establish a Dark Skies Park for eastern Waiheke and, if successful, might develop the concept across the island.
Davies said Auckland Transport had done its bit for conservation by replacing all the street lights in eastern Waiheke to 3000K LEDs at their own cost and had “made sure they were at zero tilt”.
This reduces sky glow and the effect on human melatonin production.
“They [Auckland Transport] are working their way slowly through west Waiheke as step two,” she said.
If successful, Waiheke will follow Great Barrier Island as the next bright star of New Zealand’s dark skies.
In 2017, Aotea/Great Barrier Island was named the world’s third Dark Sky Sanctuary, and the first island sanctuary, an honour it now shares with Rakiura/Stewart Island.
Photographs: Supplied: Mikey Mackinven: Waiheke Island's dark skies.
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Leadership Training for Community Organisations starts tonight.
- 9 workshops
- Held fortnightly on Wednesday evenings
- 6:00pm - 8:00pm
- Pakuranga venue (on ZOOM if we go into lockdown)
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Leadership Training for Community Organisations starts tonight.
- 9 workshops
- Held fortnightly on Wednesday evenings
- 6:00pm - 8:00pm
- Pakuranga venue (on ZOOM if we go into lockdown)
- Attend 8 of the 9 workshops and receive a Cert of Attendance
- Each workshop $10per person
Contact lindsay.upton@mecoss.org.nz now for more course details.
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Hi Neighbours! It's back to school for our tamariki, yet not all of them are set with the school supplies they need to kickstart their year!
We are hoping to get your help spread the word, put together a group to collect school supplies! All proceeds to emergency homes and low decile schools … View moreHi Neighbours! It's back to school for our tamariki, yet not all of them are set with the school supplies they need to kickstart their year!
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Are you aged 15-30? Be a kaitiaki for your whaanau and get immunised! We've got a FREE measles clinic for whaanau in South Auckland at the Whānau Ora Community Clinic - details and times in the image below.
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Visitor screening is no longer taking place at Middlemore Hospital and our other facilities as this is not required at Alert Level 1. We do ask whaanau if you could please use the NZ COVID Tracer app to scan our QR code each time you visit our hospital and clinics. This code will be displayed at … View moreVisitor screening is no longer taking place at Middlemore Hospital and our other facilities as this is not required at Alert Level 1. We do ask whaanau if you could please use the NZ COVID Tracer app to scan our QR code each time you visit our hospital and clinics. This code will be displayed at the entrances to all our sites.
We also ask visitors to use hand gel when entering the hospital, adhere to our visiting policy, and to stay home and call Healthline on 0800 611 116 if you feel unwell. Here's one of our nurses Denyse with more information on our visitor policy.
Check out our website for more details: bit.ly...
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