It is a massive company, but two men hope to convert much of eastern Ontario into a dark sky reserve, and they lean towards astrotourism, something they say has been a growing trend since the pandemic.
Dark sky preserves are considered protected areas that try to reduce the contamination of light and preserve the night sky for animals, insects and plants that trust it.
With that comes astrotourism, where people venture to those areas to see objects in the night sky that are not visible in cities.
“I call it undercover environmentalism, but under the hood, it is wonders for people, the desert, the butterflies, the bats,” said John Criswick, who began the NWNC Dark-Sky project (which represents Narrows Lock, Westport, Newboro and Chaffeys Lock) and has been working to obtain that smaller region declared a presentation through Dark Sky International.
They feel that going with that organization, versus the Astronomical Royal Society of Canada, which has certified numerous other preserves in the country, would provide more attention to tourism internationally.
Nor would it be the first in the region to be certified by Darksky International, since Mont Tremblant in the west of Quebec was certified a few years ago.
However, your company does not stop there.
In the coming years, they hope to expand the project to cover an area of approximately 42,000 square kilometers that includes around 75 cities and municipalities and more than half a million residents in eastern Ontario.
“I would make it one of the largest can of Dark Heaven in Canada,” said Criswick.
That area would extend from Cornwall to Hawkesbury, to Petawawa, Bancroft, Algonquin Provincial Park and the 401 highway.
It would exclude municipalities with populations of more than seven thousand people.
While Criswick said it is more an educational campaign, they would like to see the regulations brought by municipalities that would cover the types of lights used, for example, a more yellow tone for street lamps instead of bright white.
That is part of the challenge, said Criswick, since they face a growing problem in Canada and worldwide: light pollution.
2% of the night sky is lost every year
“One of the most important things is the cheap of LED lights,” said Bernie Hasselman, part of the Committee for the Pollution of the Light of the Astronomical Royal Society of Canada.
“Bright White emits a lot of blue and blue light is … a serotonin inhibitor. Therefore, prevents many people from obtaining the rest they need.”
It is also a growing problem.
The world, said Hasselman, is losing about two percent of the night sky every year due to light pollution, a problem that really did not exist much more than 100 years ago.
People living in urban centers said, they probably have never seen a truly dark sky unless they have ventured in the country at night.
“They have never seen the Milky Way unless they have come out of camp,” he said.
“It is surprising how fast your eyes can adjust to the dark in about 10 minutes,” Hasselman added. “But a flashlight and boom flash, you’re back to start again.”
How to reduce light pollution
Part of the initiative implies helping the East Ontaries to understand what light pollution is and how to reduce it.
“If you need some lights to be able to lower your steps safely or go to your dock, great. If you want to have some lights in your garden, that’s great,” said Dustin Johnston, who is working with Criswick on the dark sky project.
However, there are small adjustments that anyone can do, he added.
“You can have [those lights] protected or looking down or not having them super bright. You can have them in the amber spectrum. “
Before labeling much of the Eastern Region of Ontario, a dark sky reserve, aim to celebrate a “dark week” in May 2026, the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the construction of the Rideau channel.
“It is interesting to live here and be in eastern Ontario, in this region. It’s Pristino, it’s beautiful. It’s dark. It has all those attributes,” said Criswick. “We are really not asking anyone to do anything, just progress.”
Criswick and Johnston will celebrate a Festival in Perth, Ontario, on Saturday.
