Rewilding the Night is an experimental project that brings together Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, data analysis, and novel visualisation techniques to explore urban darkness.
The University of Bonn’s Botanical Gardens are being used as a field site to test the sensors and data collection. They were installed in summer 2023 and will continue to run over the next year.
Rewilding the Night is envisioned as an ongoing project that can be adapted and integrated into other urban and rural nighttime environments – for an example, see the ongoing partner project at the University of Lancaster. The website serves as a living document, and as such will include new iterations of visualisations as data continues to be collected and analysed.
The aim of the initial project phase (2023-24) is to develop novel engagements with urban darkness. These can raise awareness of light pollution as a pressing environmental issue, and more generally bring attention to the conditions of urban nights that we often take for granted. This will be done primarily through the interpretation and communication of collected data. With this, we can begin to imagine how our urban lighting could be designed otherwise.
A long-term ambition is to use the sensors and data collection to offer new design strategies aligning with natural rhythms and biodiversity needs, to create truly sustainable urban lighting.
The project has followed a co-creation process that began with workshops and a site visit to define project goals and processes. Next, light and environmental sensors within 3-D printed cases were designed and built by Rupert Griffiths (Lancaster University). The sensors and an all-sky camera were installed throughout the Botanical Gardens in summer 2023.
Rewilding the Night is based out of the Institute for Science and Ethics, University of Bonn, and led by Dr. Taylor Stone. It is possible through support by the Transdisciplinary Research Area Sustainable Futures.
The project brings together an interdisciplinary and international core team, which is supported by a broader network of collaborators.
