Dark Sky advocates look north

Annelle Norman and the Dark Sky committee are setting their sights northward hoping to address the issue of light pollution coming from the greenhouses in Delta. The Dark Sky committee is a sub-committee of the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee established last year following an appeal by Norman. In a sub-committee report she gave at PRCAC’s regular monthly meeting on January 19, she told the board that she plans to attend a Delta city council meeting to ask them to “hold the greenhouses feet to the fire” and do something about the light pollution they create. 

Artificial night-time lighting in greenhouses can increase crop yield by extending the growing season; however, the increased lighting has a negative effect on wildlife, especially the feeding patterns of migratory birds who overwinter in agricultural areas in Delta. Attaching screens to greenhouses would help eliminate the problem. 

The city of Delta included light pollution abatement and control policies as part of the Official Community Plan Review and Update back in 2003 following community discussions regarding the various environmental and economic impacts caused by agricultural light pollution. However, under B.C.’s Local Government Act, municipalities are required to seek approval from the provincial agriculture minister before implementing bylaws that affecting agricultural operations. Accordingly, the city forwarded the lighting bylaw to the ministry and requested approval by the provincial government. Such approval was not forthcoming and the result can be seen in the otherworldly glow in the Delta night sky. 

The Dark Sky sub-committee continues their efforts to keep the sky dark and the stars bright on this side of the border. “We are contacting some of the homeowners in Point Roberts to ask them to put shields on their lights so that they all point down and to put night lights on motion detectors,” Norman said.