{"id":20189,"date":"2022-10-18T13:13:41","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T20:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/?p=20189"},"modified":"2023-08-23T23:48:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T06:48:08","slug":"landon-bannister-monthly-star","status":"publish","type":"darksky_news","link":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/news\/landon-bannister-monthly-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Landon Bannister: Dark nights down under"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><i><span>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 Landon Bannister in Tasmania, Australia.<\/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-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meet IDA Advocate Landon Bannister\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/D92lC1c3kzE?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><span>The island of Tasmania is Australia\u2019s southernmost state, sitting 150 miles (240 km) south of the mainland. Just a bit smaller than Ireland, it\u2019s Australia\u2019s least populous state, with around 570,000 residents mostly living in the main city, Hobart.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Go directly south and a little east off the map of Australia and you\u2019ll find Tasmania separated from the mainland by the Bass Strait. It\u2019s a place of tremendous biodiversity and rugged landscapes that spread from temperate rainforests to dolerite mountains and sweeping coastal cliffs that tower over arcs of sugar-sand beach. The island is also home to the nocturnal Tasmanian devil, the carnivorous marsupial immortalized as a tornado-like beast in the <\/span><i><span>Looney Tunes<\/span><\/i><span> series (they don\u2019t actually spin, but they <\/span><i><span>are<\/span><\/i><span> known for being cantankerous).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-20193\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2276\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0.jpg 2276w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-600x337.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0-2160x1215.jpg 2160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2276px) 100vw, 2276px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Presenting at a technical meeting of the Illuminating Engineers Society Vic\/Tas Chapter in Melbourne, 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Originally from Tasmania, Landon Bannister is president of Dark Sky Tasmania, the local DarkSky International chapter. He has worked in the lighting industry for more than 20 years and is passionate about the role lighting plays in human health and the built environment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Landon tells me he first heard about the dark sky movement a decade ago when the Illuminating Engineering Society\u2019s Melbourne chapter held a screening of <\/span><i><span>The City Dark<\/span><\/i><span>, a documentary about light pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>\u201cI was based in Melbourne at the time and, when I watched it, I couldn\u2019t believe our lighting industry was causing all this havoc. It was terrible,\u201d he recalls.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-20195\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1108\" height=\"1478\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/04LRXJXYM.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/04LRXJXYM.jpg 1108w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/04LRXJXYM-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/04LRXJXYM-480x640.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/04LRXJXYM-240x320.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/04LRXJXYM-720x960.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1108px) 100vw, 1108px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Bannister presents one of the keynotes at the 12th International Urban Design Conference in Hobart, 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span>\u201cBut I was in a business where, you know, it was very sales reliant \u2014 there&#8217;s a lot of pressure, a lot of mouths to feed. And whilst I&#8217;d seen this and I was aware of light pollution, the penny didn&#8217;t drop until years later when I actually moved back to Tasmania.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Landon was flying in and out from Melbourne every weekend to his Tasmanian home 10 minutes outside of Hobart. One Friday night, he recalls standing out on his deck with a glass of wine in hand and being bowled over by the stars visible above Tasmania.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>\u201cLiving in Melbourne, I hadn&#8217;t seen them for like 10 years,\u201d he says. \u201cI&#8217;d just forgotten and that\u2019s when I realized, oh my god, we&#8217;ve actually got to do something.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-20194\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"876\" height=\"973\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-1-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-1-2.jpeg 876w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-1-2-600x666.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-1-2-480x533.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-1-2-240x267.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-1-2-720x800.jpeg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Running a Dark City Walk in Hobart, Tasmania in 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span>From there, Landon began conversing with several local artists who had also felt the impact of light pollution from nearby brightly lit fish farms. Landscape architects, an ecologist, and a business expert joined their group and by January 2019, Dark Sky Tasmania was formalized as an DarkSky chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Tasmania was a natural place for the dark sky movement to take hold. The world\u2019s first environmental political party, United Tasmania Group, was founded here in 1972.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>\u201cWe tend to keep the bastards honest,\u201d laughs Landon. \u201cYou know, there&#8217;s that mentality down here in Tasmania. We\u2019re the environmentalists of Australia\u2014the green state,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Some 42% of Tasmanian land is protected in reserves, including the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in the western part of the island, which by itself encompasses a quarter of Tasmania\u2019s land and is considered one of the last remaining temperate wildernesses on Earth. If you stand on the island\u2019s southern cliffs and stare out to sea, there is nothing between you and Antarctica. And on a clear winter evening, you may well see the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, undulating across the sky.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Dark Sky Tasmania has been working for several years to obtain a Dark Sky Sanctuary designation for a portion of the island. They have narrowed their focus to the south of Tasmania, where they will need to work with two or three councils to obtain DarkSky certification. Landon says southern Tasmania is ideal for a sanctuary because much of it is already protected land with very little development and southern views of the stars and auroras.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>I ask what keeps Landon going on the tough days and without hesitation, he says it\u2019s his passion for advocacy.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-20197\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1227\" height=\"818\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-Launceston.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-Launceston.jpg 1227w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-Launceston-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-Launceston-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-Launceston-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dark-City-Walk-Launceston-720x480.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1227px) 100vw, 1227px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Taking a Dark City Walk in Launceston as part of the Australian Institute of Architects Open House Launceston program, 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span>\u201cI love talking to people about dark skies and tackling people\u2019s misconceptions about lighting head-on. It\u2019s a great feeling to get in front of a room full of people and explain the issues in a way they\u2019ve never thought about,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Dark Sky Tasmania is also working with Aboriginal Tasmanian communities to hold public outreach events, including campfire talks where Aboriginal elders share the connection that Australia\u2019s First Nations people have to the stars.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>\u201cAboriginal Australians are globally known as the world&#8217;s first astronomers,\u201d says Landon. \u201cSome of the Western understanding of the stars was actually embedded in Aboriginal astronomy. 20,000 years ago, they understood the stars.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>\u201cThis is why dark sky protection is so important. It\u2019s 60,000 years of star knowledge that could slowly be lost as we erase more of the night sky.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span>You can follow Dark Sky Tasmania on <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DarkSkyTasmania\/\"><i><span>Facebook<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span> and Instagram <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/darkskytasmania\/\"><i><span>@darkskytasmania<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span> or learn more and see upcoming events at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.darkskytasmania.org\"><i><span>darkskytasmania.org<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span>To join the DarkSky Advocate Network, <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/who-we-are\/advocates\/\"><i><span>go here<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tasmanian Landon Bannister realized the importance of light pollution when he moved back to his native land and was amazed by stars he hadn&#8217;t seen in years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":20190,"template":"","categories":[1287,633],"tags":[746,171,744,422,116,747,11,681,743],"advocacy_type":[123,573,285],"events_terms":[],"locations_terms":[],"admin_issue":[],"class_list":["post-20189","darksky_news","type-darksky_news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-monthly-star","category-news","tag-aboriginal-communities","tag-artificial-light-at-night","tag-australia","tag-dark-sky","tag-darksky-advocate","tag-landon-bannister","tag-light-pollution","tag-monthly-star","tag-tasmania","advocacy_type-advocacy","advocacy_type-darksky-chapters","advocacy_type-monthly-star"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/darksky_news\/20189","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\/20190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20189"},{"taxonomy":"advocacy_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advocacy_type?post=20189"},{"taxonomy":"events_terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events_terms?post=20189"},{"taxonomy":"locations_terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/locations_terms?post=20189"},{"taxonomy":"admin_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_issue?post=20189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}