Maintaining our precious dark skies and further reducing light pollution across the Cranborne Chase National Landscape.
In 2019, Cranborne Chase National Landscape was awarded status as an International Dark Sky Reserve – the only National Landscape in the UK to have this designation across its whole area, and one of only 16 Dark Sky Reserves in the world. We have some of the darkest night skies remaining in south central England.
Project aims
- To create Community Dark Skies Custodians to lead stargazing evenings and be trained to monitor their local dark skies.
- To educate people about the benefits of dark skies for nature and people.
- To encourage the identification of local ‘Dark Sky Discovery Sites’ for regular stargazing evenings and events enabling sharing of community knowledge, enthusiasm and pride in their dark skies.
- To bring alive the dark skies to schoolchildren, Scouts and Brownie groups via ‘Space Detective’ themed workshops and talks allied to school Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 and to assist uniformed groups to gain their Astronomy badge.
- To work with local businesses and offer training to tourism-related businesses in how sharing their knowledge and interest in dark skies could add value to them. Including offering tailor-made ‘Dark Sky’ packages to visitors, encouraging increased visitor wonder, knowledge and enjoyment, becoming ‘Dark Sky Friendly’ operations themselves and encourage others to do likewise.
Project achievements
Volunteer Dark Skies Custodians
- Created Community Dark Sky Custodians and provided them with the knowledge and skills to share their enthusiasm with others, including volunteers who then lead stargazing evenings and monitor their local dark skies.
- Community Dark Skies Custodians learnt about the multiple benefits of dark skies; benefits to human health, wildlife, saving money and carbon by reducing unnecessary lighting, better targeted lighting for security purposes and the enjoyment and learning that comes from a better understanding of the nightscape.
- Dark Skies Custodians have taken action in their local communities in different ways, such as writing articles for magazines discussing dark skies, light pollution, and astro-tourism.
- 1 Custodian assisted a camping business with their application to become dark sky accredited.
16 Dark Skies Custodians completed their training
6 stargazing event leaders have been established in local parishes
Sky quality measurements
- Sky quality meters distributed to Custodians so that they can carry out measurements in different areas of Cranborne Chase National Landscape area.
- These measurements recorded levels of light pollution, and allowed the monitoring of encroaching light pollution on the landscape.
192 baseline sky quality measurements recorded by volunteers
- Stargazing events throughout the Chase & Chalke landscape area, organised by the Chase & Chalke team as well as volunteer Dark Sky Custodians.
- The Perseids Picnic event at Broad Chalke included talks on the skies, planets and constellations, and information on Cranborne Chase as an international dark skies reserve. The talks were followed by an opportunity to see the Perseids meteor shower.
- Stargazing events were also held in Compton Abbas, Damerham, Tarrant Monkton, Coombe Bissett, Tarrant Gunville, and at the Larmer Tree Gardens.
257 attendees at stargazing events
46 people attended the Perseids Picnic event
Working with local businesses
- A dedicated tourism business webinar – ‘Grow Your Business with Dark Sky Tourism: Astro-Tourism for Businesses’ – was held in February 2021.
- Information for businesses was given to participants for them to use across their promotional material, such as cost-effective measures that businesses can take to make themselves more dark-sky friendly.
57 attended the business webinar
9 businesses participated in astro-tourism workshops
Youth involvement
- Events were held with Woodcutts Scout Group, where astronomers gave talks and presentations about meteorites and constellations.
- Members from the local youth group Seeds4Success attended a Tarrant Gunville stargazing event.
2 ‘In the Night Sky’ workshops for school children run in the area by ‘Space Detectives’
3 Dark Skies art activity events held at Coombe Bissett
227 school children have received dark sky or astronomy-related workshops
Workshops and events
- The Starry, Starry Nights project collaborated with the Cranborne Chase National Landscape team to deliver Starfest, an annual event which features a variety of workshops and experiences focusing on the dark skies of Cranborne Chase.
