A stellar year for DarkSky: 2023 achievements at a glance

2023 was a successful year for DarkSky International. While light pollution grows at an alarming rate, nearly 10% each year, DarkSky continues to make incredible strides to protect the night. We are confident these destructive trends of light pollution can and will change. Thanks to the hard work of DarkSky Advocates and supporters worldwide, the movement is growing, and the stars continue to shine bright.

Here’s a quick look at some of our biggest accomplishments this year…

1. 17 new places became DarkSky certified.

We are proud to report the certification of 17 new Dark Sky Places. There are now 210 official DarkSky Parks, Reserves, Urban Areas, and Communities worldwide committed to preserving their awesome night sky views. These are places where not only the stars shine bright but also critical nocturnal habitats are being protected. Check out the new places…

2. Advocates in Kenya launched the first DarkSky Chapter in Africa.

DarkSky International is truly a global organization. This year, a team of Advocates in Kenya established the first DarkSky Chapter in Africa.

Their hard work and efforts are already paying off, with numerous parks and preserves in Kenya starting the rigorous process of joining our list of certified DarkSky Places.

There are now DarkSky Chapters on all five “habitable” continents. Does anyone in Antarctica want to challenge this by establishing a South Pole chapter in 2024?

3. We held three inspiring and far-reaching global events.

Each year, DarkSky organizes multiple global events to increase awareness about light pollution and the importance of preserving nocturnal ecosystems. This year, our events broke records!

International Dark Sky Week, a worldwide celebration of the night, significantly amplified the call to protect the night. Between DarkSky-supported events and media attention through news features, announcements, and syndicated articles, we estimate over 1 billion people were reached!

Our Capture the Dark photo contest and Under One Sky Conference also saw record participation and attendance! Be sure to check out the 2023 photo winners and watch the recordings of all our inspiring speakers from this year’s global conference.

4. We changed our name and got a new logo!

You may have noticed something a little different. This year, we introduced a new logo and shortened our name.

Our board of directors and staff worked with consultants for over a year to refine our brand identity. At the end of 2022, our board elected to change our name from the International Dark-Sky Association to simply DarkSky.

We are thrilled with the new logo and the simplicity of the name which many people were already using. It also makes for some awesome merch! Check out DarkSky’s online store to purchase a tee or sweatshirt with our new logo. All proceeds help to support our efforts to keep the stars shining bright.

5. The DarkSky movement continued to grow!

All these accomplishments culminate in a greater success – more people and places are committed to preserving the natural night than ever before.

How do we know?

• The astrotourism industry continues to grow as more people seek to experience and learn about dark skies. Recent studies have estimated this industry to be worth half a billion dollars worldwide.
• Dark sky-related terminology, such as “light pollution” and “sky glow,” has nearly doubled in mentions and online searches in the past two years.
• Success stories continue to pour in from communities and places that have committed to protecting their dark skies. Be sure to sign up for our e-news updates to stay connected with the movement as we share these stories throughout the year.

While 2023 has been a tremendously successful year, we are even more excited for what’s to come in 2024. But we need your help to continue our critical work into the new year.

We hope you will consider giving a gift to DarkSky or becoming a member. Together, we can reclaim the night.

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