The University of Calgary observatory won the award

A foothills observatory works to keep Alberta's rural instrument dark.

The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, near Priddis, aims to raise awareness of light pollution and its harmful effects.

“(Foothill residents) live in a very, very special part of the world,” said observatory director Dr. Phil Langill. “And it's a part of the world that gets dark at night, where people can go out and look at the stars with their eyes, look at the universe with their eyes and enjoy it.”

As a lifelong Calgarian, Langill said people outside of the big city can take the natural beauty of the night sky for granted.

“People who live in the country think that the dark, story-filled sky will always be there. “On the way home late at night, the stars begin to disappear, and as soon as I enter the city, they disappear.

“So I remind myself every day that the people who live around the observatory are lucky people to have this beautiful place, so at the observatory we remind people that they have this wonderful opportunity, and if they are not careful, they will lose it.”

DarkSky International, which works to raise awareness of light pollution around the world and preserve dark skies, defines light pollution as “the human-made alteration of outdoor light levels from natural conditions.”

The observatory serves as southern Alberta's representative to an international organization that recognizes “dark sky sites” that preserve the sky's natural beauty.

Beyond the beauty of the sky and rural aesthetics, the University of Calgary astrophysicist added that light pollution poses significant problems for the natural world.

“Light pollution affects the ability of plants and animals, insects, bats and birds to survive,” Langill said. “Because when you change their environment, maybe it stresses them out, it changes their ability to find food.

“It becomes a very stressful environment, so we have to try to keep the natural world healthy by keeping it naturally dark at night.”

Langill has spent years working with foothills residents to raise awareness of the issue and encourage people to monitor their use of night lights.

He is also ready to highlight the seriousness of the issue with the City of Calgary and the Alberta government.

“These are the people who design and build large lighting systems,” he said. “They don't know the effect light has on the natural world, so we're doing our best to get that message across, not just to people, but to large structures.”

This year, Langill and Rothney Astrophysical Observatory was recognized for its outreach efforts with an Emerald Award for Excellence in Environmental Protection from the Alberta Emerald Foundation.

“This is the only program in Canada dedicated to recognizing environmental achievements in a variety of sectors,” said Sabrina Huot, the foundation's communications and engagement specialist.

With 33 nominees from 15 Alberta municipalities vying for the award, the observatory is nominated in the Community Engagement and Outreach category.

“We do a million things at the observatory,” Langill said. “Regarding the Emerald Award … our efforts to educate people about light pollution and trying to put together some initiatives to help people understand light pollution. Take care of yourselves and do things to protect the night sky.”

Langill hopes to continue to inform Foothills residents about the observatory's work and is excited to invite people to come see for themselves.

“I think people who live around the observatory look up at the hill and see this huge object and say, 'What's going on up there?' may be surprised.”

He said, “People are afraid to find out what's going on because they've stopped some kind of secret job or they're crazy university astronomers.

“We have to do a good job of letting people know what we're doing with the observatory, because there's nothing too secret. It's all exciting science.”

The 33rd annual Emerald Awards will be held June 6 at the Calgary Central Library.