{"id":16467,"date":"2021-05-24T06:09:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T13:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/?p=16467"},"modified":"2023-08-23T23:48:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T06:48:45","slug":"wild-atlantic-skies-in-irelands-county-mayo","status":"publish","type":"darksky_news","link":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/news\/wild-atlantic-skies-in-irelands-county-mayo\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia MacMillan: Wild Atlantic skies in Ireland\u2019s County Mayo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each month DarkSky International features a DarkSky Advocate from the worldwide network of volunteers working to protect the night. This month we\u2019re highlighting the work of Georgia MacMillan in Ireland.<br><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meet Georgia MacMillan\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QG_XMSZSdns?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br>\u201cLook beyond the horizon.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is the first thing that Georgia MacMillan tells visitors walking in Mayo Dark Sky Park. A wilderness guide and the development officer for Ireland\u2019s first dark-sky park, Georgia, encourages people to explore the night sky and their senses beyond what they can see.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Celebrating its fifth anniversary this month, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mayodarkskypark.ie\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayo Dark Sky Park<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a blanket bog wilderness in the west of Ireland, situated within the 58-square-mile Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park along the Wild Atlantic Way. \u201cWe have mountains, forest track, bog roads&#8230;it\u2019s a remote feeling, a tranquil feeling,\u201d says Georgia. \u201cYou don\u2019t hear an awful lot \u2014 wildlife will hear us coming a lot sooner and will be gone or hidden or still. But there are pine marten, red deer, badger and bats on the wooded side, as well as woodcock birds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Darkness isn\u2019t the only conservation effort here, either. Ballycroy is also home to Owenduff Bog, one of the last intact, active blanket bog systems in Western Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-16798\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-480x360.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MDSF-Group-IMG_1950-scaled-2160x1620.jpg 2160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Team members from Mayo Dark Sky Festival with local politician and Professor Brian Espey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Catalyzing dark skies in Ireland<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Georgia\u2019s reputation and work precede her, whether organizing the Mayo International Dark Sky Week<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which this year saw more than 2,000 registered for its online events, or leading nighttime wilderness walks with her social enterprise tour company, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/terrafirmaireland.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Terra Firma Ireland<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Georgia also recently joined DarkSky\u2019s new <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/new-international-committee-of-the-ida-appointed\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">International Committee<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> representing the views of dark-sky advocates around the globe.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With no shortage of Irish humility, Georgia is the first to say that she did not single-handedly start the dark skies movement in Ireland. She credits the help she got from advocates who had set up earlier dark-sky parks in Britain and local supporters like Brian Espey, a professor of physics at Trinity College Dublin, who helped found <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.darksky.ie\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dark Sky Ireland<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the early 2000s.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Georgia\u2019s father was from London\u2019s East End, where she grew up. But she remembers the vivid contrast between the bright city and the dark nights when visiting her mother\u2019s family home in Ireland\u2019s County Mayo, where she eventually settled.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2013 as a returning student, Georgia earned a degree in Outdoor Education from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Investigating the concepts of wilderness and tranquility led her to discover the work of DarkSky. She went on to write a dissertation on \u201cInvestigating light pollution and the possibility for creating a Mayo dark sky place.\u201d The seeds for a Mayo dark-sky park were planted, and in 2016, Ballycroy was designated an DarkSky Gold-Tier Dark Sky Park. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Georgia is now developing a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mayodarkskypark.ie\/what-s-on\/mdsp-admin\/newport-lighting-master-plan\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">lighting master plan for Newport<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the gateway town for Mayo Dark Sky Park. If designated, it would become the first dark-sky-friendly town in Ireland.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-16788\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/39C62FA5-3897-4FC2-A4AB-1292660BE9F6.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/39C62FA5-3897-4FC2-A4AB-1292660BE9F6.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/39C62FA5-3897-4FC2-A4AB-1292660BE9F6-600x449.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/39C62FA5-3897-4FC2-A4AB-1292660BE9F6-480x360.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/39C62FA5-3897-4FC2-A4AB-1292660BE9F6-240x180.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/39C62FA5-3897-4FC2-A4AB-1292660BE9F6-720x540.jpeg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Eccowell Cork Event with Dark Sky Ireland members meeting to collaborate on workshops and aspects of dark skies in Sustainable Development Goals in 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Dispelling fear of the dark<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Georgia believes that providing opportunities for people to experience and appreciate the night is crucial for conserving the nocturnal environment.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s that old David Attenborough quote: \u2018You won\u2019t protect what you don\u2019t care about, and you won\u2019t care about what you\u2019ve never experienced.\u2019 So you have to bring people out at night. Even if there aren\u2019t stars, get them to do an experiential walk at night, get them to know what it is to be in a safe environment in darkness. And I think most people do appreciate that tranquility because you don\u2019t get it under artificial light.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/terrafirmaireland.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Terra Firma Ireland<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Georgia leads visitors on nighttime wilderness hikes. She sees people gain confidence when they try walking without a flashlight and incorporates music and Irish storytelling as a way of easing uncertainty for first-timers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cYou can bring the night sky in by asking, \u2018What\u2019s your favorite song that mentions the night sky or the stars or the moon?\u2019 It\u2019s endless. You have people sometimes singing as they go along, and that might take the fear element away from the dark.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-16789\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-480x360.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-1440x1080.jpeg 1440w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-240x180.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-720x540.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_7599-scaled-2160x1620.jpeg 2160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Group shot of attendees at European Symposium for the projection of the Night Sky. Over a dozen countries represented and over 100 attendees to rural Mayo in November. A strong demonstration of the reach of dark sky themes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Under one sky<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Georgia, patience, collaboration, and an empathetic approach are crucial for dark skies conservation: \u201cIt\u2019s not going to happen quickly. It\u2019s a behavioral change you\u2019re looking to implement, so that takes time.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s very easy to be confrontational over it because people are protective of the reasons they use light \u2013 whether they understand it fully or not is another issue. But they are usually quite defensive on why they use light.\u201d She suggests a combined bottom-up and top-down approach: getting community buy-in while also chasing the highest authorities for legislative changes.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recalling the theme of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/conference.darksky.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2020 DarkSky Global Conference<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Georgia explains how resonant the idea of being \u2018Under One Sky\u2019 is for her community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cA lot of people know of our infamous border between north and south Ireland, but we have so much to share on this one little island. That phrase was so perfect \u2013 \u2018under one sky\u2019 is exactly what we should be, and we need to cherish the things we have in common.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe pale blue dot photo, and the Carl Sagan quote, is so relevant for us in today\u2019s times. For our climate, our wellbeing, our social integrations, and our equality. You can be no more equal than on this little pale blue dot together.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cNo matter where we are, we have the sky in common.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Find out more about Mayo Dark Sky Park, including upcoming events, at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mayodarkskypark.ie\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mayodarkskypark.ie<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. You can follow Georgia on Twitter <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GeorgieMacPorge\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@GeorgieMacPorge<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mayodarkskies\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@mayodarkskies<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Learn more about DarkSky&#8217;s advocate network <a href=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/who-we-are\/advocates\/\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DarkSky Advocate Georgia MacMillan, development officer for Mayo Dark Sky Park in Ireland, encourages exploration of the night sky, highlighting the importance of darkness for conservation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":16797,"template":"","categories":[1287,633],"tags":[935,937,941,938,116,934,939,723,722,933,358,681,721,940,936,932],"advocacy_type":[123,285],"events_terms":[],"locations_terms":[],"admin_issue":[],"class_list":["post-16467","darksky_news","type-darksky_news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-monthly-star","category-news","tag-ballycroy","tag-brian-espey","tag-carl-sagan","tag-dark-sky-ireland","tag-darksky-advocate","tag-darksky-gold-tier-dark-sky-park","tag-galway-mayo-institute-of-technology","tag-georgia-macmillan","tag-ireland","tag-mayo","tag-mayo-dark-sky-park","tag-monthly-star","tag-newport","tag-terra-firma-ireland","tag-trinity-college-dublin","tag-wilderness-guide","advocacy_type-advocacy","advocacy_type-monthly-star"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/darksky_news\/16467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/darksky_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/darksky_news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16467"},{"taxonomy":"advocacy_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advocacy_type?post=16467"},{"taxonomy":"events_terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events_terms?post=16467"},{"taxonomy":"locations_terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/locations_terms?post=16467"},{"taxonomy":"admin_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_issue?post=16467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}