Some of our work is slow and procedural. Some of it is a simple conversation with a neighbor. Here's what's underway.
Bend's Outdoor Lighting Standards (BDC 3.5.200) date to 2004. We're working directly with the City to bring shielding requirements, curfews, and color-temperature limits up to current dark sky standards.
Free evening walkthroughs for residents dealing with light trespass or questions about their own lighting. We help identify the source, suggest low-cost fixes, and provide resources to begin the conversation with a neighbor if needed.
Noticed a blue or purple light around town? That is a defective fixture. Volunteers are cataloging these streetlamps and reporting them to the appropriate authorities for replacement. Check out our Data page for more.
In conjunction with DarkSky Oregon, volunteers collect sky quality readings across Deschutes County to gather data about sky brightness in the region that we can monitor year over year. Check out our Check out our Data page for more.
Assembling the sky quality data and community support needed to nominate the city of Bend for International Dark Sky Community recognition, both joining our neighbors in Sisters and Sunriver in addition to surpassing Flagstaff, AZ as the most populous dark sky city on Earth.
A proposed rebate program to help residents and local businesses replace unshielded lighting, including parking lot and signage lighting, with dark sky compliant fixtures and bulbs.
If you know a site, a stretch of public land, or a neighborhood that could use a lighting audit, we'd like to hear about it.
Suggest a project