Introduction

Could it be possible that lights on the Edgewood campus are giving off too much light for the good of the environment, specifically the Wingra Watershed? Is the light range higher than it should be according to city ordinance? There certainly is such a thing as too much light and wasted light. According to Don Sanford, if lights are too bright or are not properly shielded, they can ruin the night sky and also can have very negative effects on the local wildlife. Light pollution is an issue that often does not receive much attention in our society, but the United States is a large part of the worldwide light pollution problem.
In a pamphlet by David Liebl and Robert Korte entitled Sensible Shoreline Lighting it states, “Artificial lighting allows us to engage in nighttime activities that would be impossible or unsafe under normal nighttime conditions.” Artificial lighting is used to see our way in the darkness. This statement may seem simple, but in fact, our eyes have the possibility to adjust themselves to a huge selection of light levels. This adjustment, however, does not occur immediately. Sometimes it can take up to sixty seconds for our eyes to completely adjust to its dark surroundings. Once this adjustment has taken place our eyes have the ability to see a candle ten miles away. In fact, if a person has been walking or driving in the dark and suddenly there is a lot of light, it can be difficult for the person to see because their eyes cannot always adjust so quickly to the new lighting.
The purpose of this project was to measure the light in the Wingra Watershed, and in doing so, present recommendations to Edgewood about how they could reduce light pollution on their Campus and the Wingra Watershed. We planned to do this by measuring, with a light meter, the chosen unshielded lights between Regina and the Campus School. By using references such as David Liebl, we were able to understand the differences between good and bad lighting and the appropriate shields that can correct the problems.
In our opinion, there was too much light being given off in the Wingra Watershed and also the light was not adequately shielded or directed. The light being given off is disturbing the night sky in that area and we also feared that it was upsetting the local wildlife such as birds and squirrels that live in the surrounding trees. We believed that by modifying the lighting between the north side of Regina and the south side of the Campus School, Edgewood could help with the ongoing problem of nation wide light pollution, specifically the Wingra Watershed in Madison, WI.

Link to Methods

Link to Results

Link to Discussion

Link to Full Report

References

Parks, Bob. E-mail interview. .

Liebl, David S. Personal interview. .

Liebl, David S., and Robert Korth. "Sensible Shoreland Lighting."
Preserving the Beauty of the Night September 2000: 11.

Liebl, David S., and Donald P. Sanford. Exterior Lighting
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. : , 2000.

“Midwest Outdoor Lighting Solutions.”

"Regulations, Lake Wingra Watershed."

Sanford, Don. Personal interview.