Rimutaka Crossing, Night & Light Photography
Our Story
The Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve is an initiative to protect the dark skies of the Wairarapa region.
Starting out as a self formed community group, the Reserve is now a charitable trust, and is supported by the Wairarapa Councils. The Patron of the Reserve is Sir Maarten Wevers, and Viv Napier is the Chair of the Reserve Committee.
Our purpose is to maintain the long term recognition of Wairarapa’s dark sky by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA).
The IDA is widely recognised as the body that designates dark sky places that comply with its requirements for controls over light pollution.
We aim to achieve our goal through promoting the value of protecting the dark sky panorama of the Wairarapa, providing information and encouragement for visitors and the general public to appreciate the benefits of the Reserve, promoting the use of the dark sky reserve in science outreach by the astronomical and conservation communities, and collaborating with other dark sky places in Aotearoa and internationally.
An important part of our mission is to ensure that we remain an accredited International Dark Sky Reserve, providing regular updates to the IDA so that they can be sure our skies remain dark and that we are advocating for improvements to light pollution.
