On a December evening, Piet Zijlstra and Christina Gerdes organised a Night Walk with the residents of Lauwersoog, one of our demonstrator sites.
The walk was an important step in incorporating local perspectives into the ‘Masterplan Darkness’ for Lauwersoog, where co-design plays a major role.
Despite the winter cold, we had a great turnout and meaningful interactions with members of ‘Dorpsbelang Lauwersoog’. Together, we explored various lighting scenarios in the village:
✨ At Vlinderbalg and Robbengat/Schildhoek, we observed that older fluorescent lamps, producing around 1.5 lux on the streets, were casting up to 9-11 lux into the bedrooms of some participants. They expressed concern about it and the light pollution this causes.
✨ In Robbenoort, Sustainder Anne fixtures were installed, which allow dimming of individual segments. However, some adjustments are still needed, as we noted during the walk.
✨ At another location (non-municipal) fixtures with a 40° tilt were spotted. While they emit amber-colored light, their luminance was extremely high—23,000 cd/m²—an area for further improvement.
We also reviewed Sky Quality Measurements taken at Lauwersnest and simultaneously in the harbour, in collaboration with the University of Groningen’s "Washetdonker.nl” project.
The representatives of the residents unanimously agreed that lighting levels can and should be significantly reduced. This aligns with the municipality’s ambition to become a DarkSky Municipality.
We are very happy to include the local residents in our project and are looking forward to the upcoming light modifications in Lauwersoog!
Photos: Piet Zijlstra, Christina Gerdes, Anton Oosterhof
