Light pollution has the potential to disrupt natural ecosystems, stargazing, and human health. The goal of this project was to help Acadia National Park protect and preserve their night skies. We did this by creating a comprehensive inventory of all lighting in the park, investigating nighttime visitor activity, and interviewing park employees. We found that while the majority of park lighting is not compliant with standards, the park’s actual contribution to light pollution is likely relatively low. In addition, trends in visitor activity revealed that lighting at several locations in the park could be turned off with minimal impact. We have proposed a lighting management plan that aims to incorporate the needs of both visitors and employees alike while minimizing light pollution.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Ku, Myles
• Klegraefe, Andrew
• Giangregorio, Nicholas
• Ji, Dongquan
• Offstein, Ryan

Subject

• Environment
• Project-Based Learning
• Community

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• 123649
• E-project-080224-081548

Advisor

• Kurlanska, Courtney Brooke
• Bianchi, Frederick W.

Year

• 2024

Center

• Acadia National Park, Maine Project Center - IQP

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 13 - Climate Action

Date created

• 2024-08-02

Resource type

• Interactive Qualifying Project

Source

• E-project-080224-081548

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Zuletzt geändert

• 2024-09-20