REC-LEBRITY INTERVIEW
Come along to Illinois’ first and only Dark Sky Park, Middle Fork River Forest Preserve. Lisa Sprinkle and Matt Kuntz, of Champaign Country Forest Preserve District, and David Leake, of the Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society, join Jarrod Scheunemann to discuss the importance of Dark Sky Parks and how they went about receiving the designation in Central Illinois.
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Q. Why is it important to get kids outside to see the night sky?
A. Get back to nature and get away from the screen.
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Q. Why is the Dark Sky Park designation so special?
A.
– Learning the awareness of the Dark Sky.
– Educate those who may have never seen a Dark Sky.
– Learn about how bad light pollution really is.
– Then educate on how to preserve the Dark Sky.
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Q. What’s different from a Dark Sky here vs Champaign/Chicago?
A.
– About a million stars more.
– To really see things using equipment helps.
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Q. Are some steps to receive a Dark Sky designation?
A.
– First, go to darksky.org.
– Next, how dark is your sky? Go to lightpollutionmap.info.
– Measure your dark sky with a Sky Quality Meter.
– You can find the application online.
– Main Piece: The Lightscape Management Plan
– Infrastructure changes will come next.
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Q. What are the Dark Sky Association’s requirements for lighting?
A.
– Stay under 3,000 Kelvin.
– It’s basically turning your light down.
– More Dark Sky lighting is available now.
– You need to be willing and able to educate the public.
{10:58}
Q. Have you seen any new visitors just because of this designation?
A.
– Absolutely.
– Our revenue numbers have increased by over 15%.
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ANNOUNCEMENT
Video Made the Rec-lebrity Star
9:45am, Friday Session
2020 IAPD/IPRA Conference
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Visit Middle Fork River Forest Preserve online.
Contact the Rec-lebrities
Lisa Sprinkle
Marketing Coordinator
Champaign County Forest Preserve District
lsprinkle@ccfpd.org
(217) 586-3360
Matt Kuntz
Site Superintendent
Champaign County Forest Preserve District
mkuntz@ccfpd.org
(217) 595-5432
David Leake
Member
Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society
DLeake@parkland.edu
Rec-lebrity Interviews conducted by Campfire Concepts President, Jarrod Scheunemann, and Marketing Director, Jessie Scheunemann, focus on local park and recreation management strategies and best practices. Join this dynamic pair and other “rec-lebrities” in their treehouse and on location to find your next great idea.
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