Dark Sky Places (Existing and Aspiring) Survey

The Australasian Dark Sky Alliance (ADSA) is a not-for-profit charity educating the public and decision-makers on the impacts of light pollution to our natural night time environment.

The Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE) has contracted ADSA to develop a report investigating the most appropriate mechanisms to:

Conserve, create and protect dark skies in Australia.

In order to do this, we are assessing and identifying dark sky sites and recommending the best mechanisms that would lead to enhanced environmental outcomes and reduced light pollution.

As custodians of dark sky places, aspiring or existing, we would be interested in your thoughts and feedback.

All data gathered is anonymized and the information obtained will only be accessed by necessary ADSA staff, held securely and not distributed to any third parties.

We would highly value your responses in the following survey that should take no more than 5 - 10 minutes.

The survey will close Monday 28th FEB 5pm AET

Question Title

* 1. What is your State or Territory?

QLD

NSW

TAS

ACT

VIC

Question Title

* 2. Where is your Dark Sky Place? (Existing or aspiring)

Question Title

* 3. Would you recommend the International Dark-Sky Association Designation program to others?

Unlikely to recommend

Neither likely or unlikely

Highly likely

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

Question Title

* 4. To what extent have the following hindered your dark sky conservation efforts?

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. How much do/did each of the following drive your desire to create a dark sky place

	None	Somewhat	Significantly	N/A
Cultural heritage in the region	Cultural heritage in the region None	Cultural heritage in the region Somewhat	Cultural heritage in the region Significantly	Cultural heritage in the region N/A
Night time conservation	Night time conservation None	Night time conservation Somewhat	Night time conservation Significantly	Night time conservation N/A
General conservation concerns	General conservation concerns None	General conservation concerns Somewhat	General conservation concerns Significantly	General conservation concerns N/A
Tourist opportunities	Tourist opportunities None	Tourist opportunities Somewhat	Tourist opportunities Significantly	Tourist opportunities N/A
Stop or ensure good mining lighting	Stop or ensure good mining lighting None	Stop or ensure good mining lighting Somewhat	Stop or ensure good mining lighting Significantly	Stop or ensure good mining lighting N/A
Create a point of difference	Create a point of difference None	Create a point of difference Somewhat	Create a point of difference Significantly	Create a point of difference N/A
Council or Local Government strategy	Council or Local Government strategy None	Council or Local Government strategy Somewhat	Council or Local Government strategy Significantly	Council or Local Government strategy N/A
Specific species of flora or fauna identified in the region	Specific species of flora or fauna identified in the region None	Specific species of flora or fauna identified in the region Somewhat	Specific species of flora or fauna identified in the region Significantly	Specific species of flora or fauna identified in the region N/A
International recognition	International recognition None	International recognition Somewhat	International recognition Significantly	International recognition N/A
Educational opportunities	Educational opportunities None	Educational opportunities Somewhat	Educational opportunities Significantly	Educational opportunities N/A
Job creation	Job creation None	Job creation Somewhat	Job creation Significantly	Job creation N/A
Interest from astronomy organisations	Interest from astronomy organisations None	Interest from astronomy organisations Somewhat	Interest from astronomy organisations Significantly	Interest from astronomy organisations N/A
Funding opportunities	Funding opportunities None	Funding opportunities Somewhat	Funding opportunities Significantly	Funding opportunities N/A
Concerns about urbanisation	Concerns about urbanisation None	Concerns about urbanisation Somewhat	Concerns about urbanisation Significantly	Concerns about urbanisation N/A

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 6. Does your council or area surrounding the DSP: (Please select all that apply)

Refer to the National Light Pollution Guidelines for developments

Have no interest in light pollution mitigation strategies.

Educate residents with regular night-time conservation activities (webinars, public forums, spotlighting, stargazing events etc)?

Have smart lighting installed?

Have issues with light trespass, non-compliance with AS4282 or similar?

Have a Lighting Management Plan or similar night time environment preservation strategy in place for the LGA?

Encourage conservation of the night time environment by modelling good lighting practices?

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 7. How much are the following mechanisms likely to aid or extend your dark sky conservation efforts? (please select all that apply)

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 8. To what extent would you be interested in collaborating with a National Dark Sky Network, developing people and places to achieve National dark sky conservation goals?

Yes but only if it is free

Yes and would volunteer time to support it

Yes and would pay a participation fee - please advise how much your council would be willing to pay per annum

Question Title

* 9. Does your council: (Please select all that apply)

Have smart lighting installed?

Refer to the National Light Pollution Guidelines with all development applications?

Have a Lighting Master Plan, night sky protection strategies in place or similar?

Actively use smart lighting?

Maintain a standardised lighting briefing strategy that guides your consultants?

Outsource lighting design and specification?

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 10. Which organisations, groups or stakeholders in your area are involved in a dark sky network? (Landcare, Parks, Local Residents groups)

Question Title

* 11. Can we keep you informed of the outcomes of this research and dark sky network activities? (Please enter your email address)

Other (please specify)

	Hardly	Somewhat	Greatly	N/A
Safety concerns in creating dark places	Safety concerns in creating dark places Hardly	Safety concerns in creating dark places Somewhat	Safety concerns in creating dark places Greatly	Safety concerns in creating dark places N/A
Concerns about over-popularising the area	Concerns about over-popularising the area Hardly	Concerns about over-popularising the area Somewhat	Concerns about over-popularising the area Greatly	Concerns about over-popularising the area N/A
Lack of knowledge of Australian policies by the International Dark Sky Association	Lack of knowledge of Australian policies by the International Dark Sky Association Hardly	Lack of knowledge of Australian policies by the International Dark Sky Association Somewhat	Lack of knowledge of Australian policies by the International Dark Sky Association Greatly	Lack of knowledge of Australian policies by the International Dark Sky Association N/A
Other conservation issues being deemed more important	Other conservation issues being deemed more important Hardly	Other conservation issues being deemed more important Somewhat	Other conservation issues being deemed more important Greatly	Other conservation issues being deemed more important N/A
False information about dark skies	False information about dark skies Hardly	False information about dark skies Somewhat	False information about dark skies Greatly	False information about dark skies N/A
Lack of awareness of the issue and impacts	Lack of awareness of the issue and impacts Hardly	Lack of awareness of the issue and impacts Somewhat	Lack of awareness of the issue and impacts Greatly	Lack of awareness of the issue and impacts N/A
Energy suppliers controlling the market	Energy suppliers controlling the market Hardly	Energy suppliers controlling the market Somewhat	Energy suppliers controlling the market Greatly	Energy suppliers controlling the market N/A
No tools available to raise public interest	No tools available to raise public interest Hardly	No tools available to raise public interest Somewhat	No tools available to raise public interest Greatly	No tools available to raise public interest N/A
Time	Time Hardly	Time Somewhat	Time Greatly	Time N/A
Access to Standards Australia information	Access to Standards Australia information Hardly	Access to Standards Australia information Somewhat	Access to Standards Australia information Greatly	Access to Standards Australia information N/A
Cost - good quality lights, submission fees	Cost - good quality lights, submission fees Hardly	Cost - good quality lights, submission fees Somewhat	Cost - good quality lights, submission fees Greatly	Cost - good quality lights, submission fees N/A
General community pushback	General community pushback Hardly	General community pushback Somewhat	General community pushback Greatly	General community pushback N/A
Poor communication with International Dark Sky Association	Poor communication with International Dark Sky Association Hardly	Poor communication with International Dark Sky Association Somewhat	Poor communication with International Dark Sky Association Greatly	Poor communication with International Dark Sky Association N/A
Other conservation groups providing more support	Other conservation groups providing more support Hardly	Other conservation groups providing more support Somewhat	Other conservation groups providing more support Greatly	Other conservation groups providing more support N/A
Lack of network or support frameworks to assist within Australia	Lack of network or support frameworks to assist within Australia Hardly	Lack of network or support frameworks to assist within Australia Somewhat	Lack of network or support frameworks to assist within Australia Greatly	Lack of network or support frameworks to assist within Australia N/A
Complexities of submitting a dark sky designation application	Complexities of submitting a dark sky designation application Hardly	Complexities of submitting a dark sky designation application Somewhat	Complexities of submitting a dark sky designation application Greatly	Complexities of submitting a dark sky designation application N/A
Delays in convincing Local Council of the value	Delays in convincing Local Council of the value Hardly	Delays in convincing Local Council of the value Somewhat	Delays in convincing Local Council of the value Greatly	Delays in convincing Local Council of the value N/A
No knowledge of light pollution	No knowledge of light pollution Hardly	No knowledge of light pollution Somewhat	No knowledge of light pollution Greatly	No knowledge of light pollution N/A