Chapters in Michigan

Guardians of the Night: Why Darkness Matters
Written by Jessican Hagen, SEED, & Gail Walter

This is a joint program with Audubon Society of Kalamazoo.

Please join us on Monday, October 26th as we explore the importance of nighttime and the vital role darkness plays in healthy ecosystems. From bats and moths to birds, frogs, insects, and nocturnal plants, countless living things depend on natural darkness to feed, navigate, reproduce, rest, and survive. Participants will learn how excessive artificial light can disrupt wildlife, change natural behaviors, and affect the delicate relationships that connect nighttime species.

Birds are an important part of this story. Millions of migratory birds travel at night, using natural cues such as the stars, moon, and Earth's magnetic field to navigate. Bright lights can attract and disorient migrating birds, increasing the risk of collisions with
buildings and exhausting birds already on a long, difficult journey.

We will discuss international and local dark sky movements, which are efforts to reduce light pollution by promoting responsible outdoor lighting and protecting naturally dark night skies. Protecting dark skies preserves star visibility, supports wildlife, and reduces unnecessary energy use from excessive artificial light.

Jessica Hagen is a local science teacher at The Montessori School and a nature enthusiast passionate about preserving nighttime ecology. She will be joined by a few students from the Super Epic Earth Defender (SEED) student group.  Gail Walter is the current ASK president and an advocate for reducing threats to birds, including window collisions and artificial light at night.
We hope you’ll join us on Monday, Oct 26th, at People’s Church, 1758 North 10th Street, Kalamazoo. This program is geared to all audiences, and we enthusiastically invite families and nature lovers of any age to join us!  Come at 6:30 PM (new time) for
some refreshments and socializing. Snacks and beverages will be provided. It’s helpful if you bring your own cup. The one-hour program will start at 7:00 PM. Handicap parking and access is at either the front or the rear entrance of the building. 

Join LTC’s Amy Lipson for a demo on ways to manage invasive plants, particularly those with deep roots that continue to come back if the roots aren’t killed.  After the demo we will hike as time permits. 

We will meet at the pole barn just up the driveway from the main parking area.

Meet in the Visitor Center at Chippewa Nature Center. Please bring a dish to pass for our dinner starting at 6:00. At about 6:45 we will start the Annual Members’ Meeting, with a photo review of the year’s activities, reports from the officers, election of 2027 officers; and planning for 2027 programs. We will also accept volunteers for standing committees, to be approved later by the officers. If you have any photos to be included, send them via email to [email protected]. New this year, we will have a swap table. Feel free to bring any nature-related items (such as books, seeds, art, etc) that you would like to give away.

The public is welcome to attend but may not vote for officers.

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This program is brought to you by the Wild Ones Mid-Mitten Chapter, part of a member-based national organization whose mission promotes environmentally-sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities. The Mid-Mitten Chapter is based in Midland, Bay, Saginaw, and Isabella counties. It meets monthly on the second Monday, and welcomes new members. For more information go to @midmittenwildones.

The Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) has been the state’s natural heritage program since 1980. Mike Monfils, the MNFI director, will provide an overview of MNFI and describe the many ways it helps guide the conservation of Michigan’s biodiversity.

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