IVINS — More than 300 people signed endorsement cards supporting the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative to protect the night sky over the city at the group’s two recent kick-off events.
It started with a presentation at Red Mountain Resort April 24 by Marc Deshowitz on the impacts of light pollution and a discussion of solutions. More than 100 people attended, including Chris Hart, the mayor of Ivins, who gave introductory comments supporting the group’s mission, according to a press release from the Ivins Night Sky Initiative.
That was followed a few days later by the Initiative setting up an information table at the Kayenta Street Painting Festival over the weekend and sponsoring professional artist Anat Ronen to paint her interpretation of the night sky over Ivins.
Most of the 300-plus endorsements came from residents of Ivins, which makes sense because the Initiative is focused on that city. But the press release said the group was excited to see so many others around the region showing support. And they want to protect their night sky, too. Nearly 100 people from St. George, Santa Clara, Hurricane, Leeds, Washington and other communities in Utah signed endorsements at these two events.
In addition to endorsements, the events resulted in some homeowner associations asking for information for their homeowners and inviting representatives from the Initiative to give their members a similar presentation.
Also, two businesses approached the Initiative offering to promote the group’s goals with brochures and other information at their businesses.
The Initiative has a lot of information about outdoor lighting safety, health and environmental issues on its website at IvinsNightSky.org.
Although the group already has more than 20 active volunteers, they can use more help. If you are interested, contact them at [email protected].
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