On 25 October, the harbour of Lauwersoog joined the Dutch Nacht van de Nacht (Night of the Night) to celebrate darkness and raise awareness about light pollution. The event was organised by our project partners from Lauwersoog Harbour and the University of Groningen as part of DARKER SKY.
During the evening, Nynke Visser (project leader for Lauwersoog) and lighting engineer Piet Zijlstra explained the importance of darkness and the steps Lauwersoog is taking to reduce light emissions by 50% by 2028 with the Masterplan Darkness. They were joined by Stefan van Keijzerswaard from the Municipality of Het Hogeland and Jieskje Hollander, Managing Director of Wagenborg Passenger Services.
After the talks, the group went outside for a special dark moment. On Jieskje Hollander’s signal, the lights of the Wagenborg ferry terminal were turned off. Shortly after, Piet Zijlstra switched off lights along the quay and near the World Heritage Centre. When the lights went out, the Milky Way became visible above the harbour: a rare and beautiful sight!
To make this moment possible, the Wagenborg team created a special group chat with nine people to turn off every light in the area — even small ones like vending machines and clocks.
At the end of the evening, Stafan van Keijzerswaard unveiled the new information board for the DARKER SKY demonstrator site.
The event showed that darkness is not only something to enjoy for one night a year, but a lasting choice for a more natural dark and sustainable harbour.
Watch our short video about the event and hear from Nynke, Jieskje and Stefan about the reduction of light pollution in Lauwersoog:
Photo: Wagenborg Passagiersdiensten
Photo: Piet Zijlstra
Photo: Piet Zijlstra
Photo: Piet Zijlstra
Photo: Theo Jurriens
Photo: Theo Jurriens
Photo: Nynke Visser
Photo: Theo Jurriens