For many grey nomads, camping out in the bush at a remote campsite – whether they’re on their own or have a few strangers for company – is one of the great joys of life on the open road … but it Is not for the faint of heart.
For those of a nervous disposition or with an over-active imagination, those rustling sounds, or that distant howl, or those raucous-sounding fellow camper voices can conjure up all sorts of worrying images.
Having some sort of lighting, of course, does offer some measure of reassurance … particularly when campers tentatively peek out see it’s a possum rummaging around near their camp table, not a malevolent intruder.
But bright lights are not always appropriate.
One of the light stations used by researchers. PIC: Pennsylvania Univerisity
In America, for example, dark skies are protected the National Park Service to support the natural feeding, mating and biological patterns of wildlife.
However, new research from Penn State university has shown that – despite the need for dark skies protection time – visitors may feel safer in brighter lighting.
The team from Penn State Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management found that people were 31.6% more likely to report higher feelings of safety in white light than amber light and 81.7% more likely to report higher feelings of safety at 5.0 lux, a unit of illuminance, than 0.5 lux.
For reference, 0.2 lux roughly equates to a full moon under clear skies and 5.0 lux is less than current outdoor lighting standards.
The team led by Associate Professor Derrick Taff, doctoral student Elizabeth Himschoot and doctoral student Morgan Crump fund that while visitors did feel more comfortable under brighter and whiter lights, this was still at levels significantly lower than current outdoor lighting practices, which suggests there can be a balance between human and wildlife needs rather than a tension point.
“The Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service is tasked with monitoring, documenting, protecting and preserving natural light and sound,” Mt Taff said. “Wildlife do not need the nighttime light produced by humans, as wildlife have the moon and stars … we wanted to find out how little light is needed for humans to feel safe at night.”
The researchers surveyed 156 participants at the Penn State Arboretum within a multi-kilometre, wooded trail course. After sunset, trained research technicians led groups of five or fewer participants through the trail system. Each group visited six different light stations that had different hues and intensities of light.
At each light station, participants completed a survey about their feelings of comfort in that lighting condition. Participants also completed functional tasks designed to explore their ability to perceive their environment. These tasks included reading signs as well as identifying shapes and colours.
“In the presence of more light, people completed more functional tasks and felt safer because of that,” Ms Himschoot said. “Feelings of safety need to be considered in visitor experience at national parks, balancing how low we can take human-created light to protect wildlife and ecological systems.”
Are you a Grey Nomad member yet? Click here to find out about the discounts, competitions and other benefits on offer
