“There is nowhere you can actually go to observe the sky on a clear night,” these were the words of Sinn Féin Councillor Pat Fitzgerald, during the December meeting for the Metropolitan area.
“Light pollution is an issue outside the city even in the rural areas now … There is nowhere in Munster, there is no observatory or nothing like that.”
Cllr. Fitzgerald suggested that light pollution is preventing people from observing the night sky. Whereas the older generation would have learned about the constellations of the stars, young people are not been provided the opportunity to access this knowledge. Cllr. Fitzgerald called for Waterford Council to take steps to offer people a designated place to reconnect with the night sky and to learn about the stars above them.
“I believe this is something that we as a Council should have a look at and should work towards long term to create one of those places where kids or whoever can be taught about constellations,” he said.
“Anyone who has grown up in the country would have known a lot of those constellations because we had people who were able to tell us what was what, and it was very interesting, very educational. We should have somewhere for the younger generation to go and observe the night sky. I think it’s something we can work towards,” Cllr. Fitzgerald added.
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
