Image of Milky Way above Hurricane Hill Road by Linda Kahananui

Thursday, April 9th, 2026

Doors/Zoom Room opens at 7:00 (note change for this month)

Lights Out and Dark Skies Initiative

What do astronomers and birders have in common? Mutual benefit from dark skies at night! Each spring and fall billions of birds migrate to their breeding and wintering grounds respectively. Much of migration is unnoticed by the casual observer as most birds migrate at night and are hundreds to thousands of feet up in the air. Birds use their vision and magnetic orientation to orient themselves along their flight path. But at night these cues are disrupted by artificial lighting. National Audubon Society’s Lights Out project and DarkSky International’s Dark Skies Initiative are both projects aimed at reducing artificial light pollution.

Join us as DarkSky International member John Goar and Kitsap Audubon Society Vice President Kevin Eyer team up to share more about these two programs and ways you can help protect migratory birds during these critical times of the year. John Goar is a retired science teacher and amateur astronomer who was awarded the Hartzog Award by the National Park Service in 2016 for Outstanding Individual Volunteer Service. John has led hundreds of night sky programs and moon walks at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. In this role, John has been advocating for darker skies for over a decade. Kevin teaches Biology and AP Biology at North Kitsap High School. He joined the KAS Board of Directors in 2021 and has served as Conservation Chair, Vice President, and President during his tenure. He contributes bird count data to the Christmas Bird Count, Climate Watch, and other community science projects. Prior to his volunteer work with KAS, Kevin spent years as a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator giving talks with hawks and owls on the glove. More recently he has taken up bird banding for the MAPS program (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survival), a long term study that provides scientists with information on population size and trends in birds across North America. John and Kevin taught together at North Kitsap High School prior to John’s retirement. They join forces once more to invite our community to action for darker skies.