By Jeff Tome
The owl hooted as soon as I pulled the last plug and the landscape around me plunged into darkness. It was an eerie, high pitched sound that would have terrified me when I was a child. The dark is now an old friend that rarely frightens me, but as a child the dark was terrifying. It was full of the unknown and the unseen and as far as I was concerned, most likely full of monsters.
It is not unusual for a child to be afraid of the dark. An estimated three out of four children are afraid of the dark between the ages of 3 and 12. Eleven percent of adults never get over their fear of the dark. This is one of the driving forces behind Audubon Lights, an event taking place every Friday and Saturday night at Audubon through April 9.
Audubon’s night is full of noise, from the peenting call of the woodcock to the high pitched peeping of the spring peeper. The trails normally close at sunset and visitors don’t get to experience all that is happening on the trails. Audubon Lights lets visitors out on the trails at night to see the landscape in a different light.
Trees are lit with colors, creating a fantasy world of purple, blue and yellow trees reflected in the ponds. It creates a landscape that turns a pond into a reflected hole in the ground that you could “fall into forever” according to one volunteer.
This year, students from Infinity Visual and Performing Arts of Jamestown put together a series of murals to make the night more beautiful. Students added in murals six feet by six feet with some of the animals that you might run into in the dark, like a raccoon or opossum. One of my favorite murals was a glow in the dark flying squirrel surrounded by fireflies and glowing mushrooms. These are some of the animals that make the night scary to some, as they see the weird gait of the possum running around a dim corner or hear a raccoon rummaging outside a home.
Infinity’s artwork combines with the lit trees and reflections to create a landscape of life and art that meshes together in ways that were never anticipated.
The trail between lit ponds and murals is lit by luminaries to the sides of the trails, but some places are darker than others. These are some of my favorite spots. The moon quietly shines down. Distant deer snort in the bushes. A fox barks even further away. Geese honk on the ponds. The wildlife is heard but unseen even as much of the trail is lit.
I spent much of the last week at Audubon after dark, testing lights and walking with various volunteers to evaluate and get videos of the lit trails. There is something amazingly peaceful about the darkened trails that settles deep into my soul. The lights create atmosphere, but the darkness and moonlight make the night complete.
Audubon Lights runs from 8:15 – 10:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights through April 9. It is sponsored by Allegheny Outfitters, Ahlstrom-Schaeffer Electric, FSC Systems and BWB. It features LED Hula Hoopers on Friday Nights and live acoustic music on Saturdays.
Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature. ACNC is located just east of Route 62 between Warren and Jamestown. The trails are open from dawn to dusk as is Liberty, the Bald Eagle. The Nature Center is open daily, including restrooms, the Blue Heron Gift Shop, Indoor Nature Play Area and exhibits. More information can be found online at auduboncnc.org or by calling (716) 569-2345.
Jeff Tome is Public Engagement Specialist at Audubon Community Nature Center.
Recent Comments