Library, Audubon to host “Dark Skies” talk

ROSEBURG, OR – Roseburg Public Library invites the community to join us on Facebook Live at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, for a nature program titled “Dark Skies” presented in partnership with the Umpqua Valley Audubon Society.

Program presenter Mary Coolidge is a career biologist and conservationist currently serving as Portland Audubon’s BirdSafe and Lights Out campaign coordinator. She began dark sky preservation and advocacy work after studying bird window collisions and factors, including light pollution, that contribute to this critical conservation issue. Coolidge is dedicated to improving efforts that make environments more hospitable to wildlife and helping people connect to nature both day and night.

This program will dive into the importance of darkness for nocturnal wildlife and migrating birds that use stars to navigate. Night on Earth has been consumed by artificial light over the past 130 years. This overabundance of light at night has dire ecological consequences for plants, birds, fish and other wildlife. Human health, safety and culture also have been negatively affected by light pollution. Tune in to discover the wonders of the night, world-class dark skies, and what local and international efforts are being made to preserve dark skies in both cities and wild places.

Umpqua Community College Assistant Professor of Science Dr. Paul Morgan, who is also a member of the Umpqua Astronomers, will follow up with commentary on local dark skies, light pollution and astronomy in the Umpqua Valley.

The program will be livestreamed at Facebook.com/RoseburgLibrary. A Facebook account is not required to attend.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. Speaker questions may be submitted before the event to Lydia Rathe at lrathe@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-7052. Alternately, viewers who have a Facebook account may post questions during the event by commenting on the live stream.