It’s a massive undertaking, but two men are hoping to turn much of eastern Ontario into a dark-sky preserve β and they’re leaning intoΒ astrotourism, somethingΒ they say has been a growing trend since the pandemic.
Dark-sky preserves are consideredΒ protected areas that try to reduce light pollution and preserve the night sky for animals, insects and plants that rely on it.
With thatΒ comes astrotourism, where people venture to thoseΒ areas to see objects in the night sky that aren’t visible in cities.
“I call it covert environmentalism, but under the hood, itΒ does wonders for people, wilderness, butterflies, bats,” said John Criswick, who started the NWNC Dark-Sky Project (which stands for Narrows Lock, Westport, Newboro and Chaffeys Lock) and has been working to get thatΒ smaller region declared a preserve through Dark Sky International.
They feel that going with that organization, versus the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada β which has certified numerous other preserves in the country β would provide more tourism attention internationally.Β
It also wouldn’t be the first in the region to be certfied by DarkSky International, as Mont Tremblant in western QuebecΒ became certified a few years ago.
Their undertaking doesn’t stop there, however.
Within the next few years, they hope to expand the project to cover a roughly 42,000 square-kilometreΒ area that includes about 75 towns and townships andΒ more than half a million residents in eastern Ontario.
“It would make it one of the largest dark-sky preserves in Canada,” said Criswick.
That area would stretch from Cornwall toΒ Hawkesbury,Β through to Petawawa, Bancroft, Algonquin Provincial Park and downΒ Highway 401.
It would exclude municipalities with populations greater than about seven thousand people.
While Criswick said it’s more of an educational campaign, they’d like to see regulations brought in by municipalities that would cover the types of lights used outside β for instance, a more yellow-red hue for street lamps rather than bright white.
That’s part of the challenge, Criswick said, as they’reΒ up against a growing problem in Canada and around the world β light pollution.
2% of night sky lost every year
“One of the biggest things is the cheapness of LED lights,”Β saidΒ Bernie Hasselman, part of the light pollution abatement committee with the Royal AstronomicalΒ Society of Canada.Β
“Bright white gives off a lot of blue light and blue light is …Β a serotoninΒ inhibitor. So it prevents a lot of the ability for people to get the rest that they need.”
It’s also a growing problem.
The world, Hasselman said,Β is losing about two per cent of theΒ night sky every year to light pollution, a problemΒ that didn’t really exist much more thanΒ 100 years ago.
People who live in urban centres, he said, likely have never seen a truly dark skyΒ unless they’ve ventured into the country at night.
“They’ve never seen the Milky Way unless they’ve gone out camping,” he said.
“It’s amazing how fast your eyes canΒ be adjusted to darkness in about 10 minutes,” Hasselman added. “But one flash of a flashlight and boom, you’re back to starting all over.”
How to reduce light pollution
Part of the initiative involves helping eastern OntariansΒ understand what light pollution is, and howΒ to reduce it.
“If you need some lights to be able to get safely down your steps or get out to your dock, great. If you want to have some lights in your garden, that’s great,” said Dustin Johnston, who’s working withΒ Criswick on the dark-sky project.
There are small tweaks, however, that anyone can do, he added.
“You can have [those lights]Β shielded or facing down or have them not super bright. You can have them on theΒ amber spectrum.”
Before labelling much of the eastern Ontario region a dark-sky preserve, they’reΒ aimingΒ toward holding aΒ “dark week” in May 2026 β the 200th anniversary of the start of the construction of the Rideau Canal.
“It’s interesting to live here and be in eastern Ontario, in this region. It’s pristine, it’s beautiful. It’s dark. It has all those attributes,”Β said Criswick. “We’re not really asking anyone to do anything, it’s just going forward.”
Criswick and Johnston are holding a festival in Perth, Ont., on Saturday.