City of Greensboro issued the following announcement on Jan. 25.
The City, in partnership with the T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society (TGPAS) and local businesses, has established a plan to help protect migrating birds that fly through the city during the spring and fall as well as conserve energy.
The program, called “Lights Out,” begins March 15 and will take place annually from that date to May 31 and again from September 10 to November 30. This voluntary initiative asks the management of tall buildings and large facilities in Greensboro to turn off or block as many external and internal building lights as possible from 11 pm to 6 am during those peak migration seasons. The program is also expected to reduce local light pollution.
Learn more about the program on TGPAS’ website and contact the organization to sign up to participate in Lights Out.
According to National Audubon Society statistics, collisions with glass windows cause as many as a billion bird deaths in the US each year. These deaths are believed to be one of the factors responsible for a 29 percent decline in North American bird populations since 1970.
During migration, intense lights on and in buildings can cause birds to collide with windows or walls, or cause them to circle in confusion, leaving them weak and exhausted when they land. Research in other cities with “Lights Out” programs determined that turning off lights in buildings at night has reduced bird collisions.
Thirty-three cities in the US already have “Lights Out” programs, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem.
Greensboro previously implemented switching off non-critical lights at night in City government buildings, helping to implement the GSO2040 Comprehensive Plan goals for sustainability and energy conservation and contributing to LEED for Cities recertification.
“Our proactivity with this issue hopefully has also – and will continue to – save the lives of migrating birds and reduce light pollution in the Greensboro sky, especially with the help of our local business partners,” says Deputy City Manager Chris Wilson. “Anything we can do to help Planet Earth.”
Original source can be found here.
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