LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Ever heard of a Dark Sky Community?
The city of Groveland in Lake County has been named the first certified Dark Sky Community in the Southeastern U.S.
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The city lies just about 30 miles west of Orlando and is a rural town of approximately 23,000 people.
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Originally known as Taylorville, the city was renamed Groveland as an homage to the farmland surrounding the residential communities. Agriculture is a particularly important aspect of this town as it drives major economic pull from big companies including Kroger and Amazon.
A campaign began back in 2017, with residents and students pushing for a need to protect views of the night sky from harsh city lights. The initiative continued and in 2021, the city began a three-year Dark Sky Initiative that drove community engagement.
Individuals monitored and collected baseline data across the city. The following year, the city passed an outdoor lighting ordinance to help curb light pollution that included residential and commercial development to apply responsible outdoor lighting practices.
A new ordinance in Groveland now requires that all city-owned lights be retrofitted with dark-sky-friendly fixtures by 2027.
To learn more about Dark Sky communities across the globe, you can visit their website.
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