Wear warm clothes and wellies, and bring a poncho; the ideal preparation to go out tomorrow evening and discover how beautiful and dark the night is during the Night of the Night. On Saturday evening, seventeen events are organized in our province in the dark. Companies and municipalities turn off the lights of buildings and advertising lighting, making it possible – if the weather is good – to catch a glimpse of the vast starry sky.
This weekend it is possible to discover the province at night and in the dark in seventeen places. The annual event Night of the Night takes place for the nineteenth time this year and is organized by Nature and Environmental Federations to draw attention to light pollution. For example, their website states: “Due to the abundance of light, fewer stars can be observed and there are all kinds of other effects on nature and the environment.”
It turns out there is something for everyone this weekend. In the Waterland region, for example, you sail with a skipper and guide over the Wormer and Jisperveld and look for the dark spot in the field. The evening ends at the Poelboerderij in Wormer with warm soup and a campfire under a possible starry sky that you can view through the telescopes of stargazers.
Everything in a different light
In Haarlem there is an evening walk inspired by the ‘griot’, an African storyteller, says Yoshina Davelaar from Traces of Slavery. “We are now participating for the second time and telling the stories about Haarlem’s colonial past.”
Davelaar says that, under the guidance of guides and small flashlights, various buildings in the city are viewed that, among other things, have to do with the history of slavery. “We literally shine a different light on history.”
“Many animals are bothered by light. You are not always aware of that, living in the city.”
In the Zaan region in the Guisveld there is a light tour especially for children. Anne Broekman is a Public Forest Ranger at Staatsbosbeheer and says: “We have been participating for a number of years and did it this way last year as well. Children can come to our work shed and make a lantern and pick out owl pellets.”
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The theme of The Night of the Night this year is ‘nocturnal animals’. Broekman: “Bats suffer from light pollution, but so do many other animals. Moths, for example, and you are not always aware of that, living in the city.”
Broekman hopes for good weather. “With homemade lanterns, the families can then take a short walk to the end of the property and that is where the storyteller sits. Marshmallows can be roasted at the campfire.”
Look here for an overview of all activities in our province.
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