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Every day needs a night

Every day needs a night: Milky Way above Chesler Park Canyonlands National Park Courtesy US National Park Service, Emily Ogden, Photographer
Milky Way above Chesler Park, Canyonlands National Park
Courtesy US National Park Service, Emily Ogden, Photographer
When one has the opportunity to experience the grandeur of the Milky Way, witness a shooting star, or identify a new constellation, such moments can spark curiosity, a sense of awe, and provide memories that last a lifetime. These experiences, however, do depend on a night sky where the view of the cosmos remains unobstructed by artificial sources of light.

Comet - July 20, 2020 Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) Courtesy Pixabay, TheOtherKev, Contributor
Comet – July 20, 2020
Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3)
Courtesy Pixabay, TheOtherKev, Contributor

Cache Valley Star Scene Note the sky glow below. Also note the light fixture focusing light down. Courtesy & Copyright Riggs Stewart, Photographer Cache Valley Star Scene
Note the sky glow below
Also note the down-focused light fixture
Courtesy & Copyright Riggs Stewart, Photographer

Telescope with Cache Valley in the background Courtesy & Copyright Riggs Stewart, Photographer Telescope with Cache Valley in the background
Courtesy & Copyright Riggs Stewart, Photographer

Cache Valley Aurora Borealis, Nov 11, 2025 Courtesy & Copyright Riggs Stewart, Photographer Cache Valley Aurora Borealis, Nov 11, 2025
Courtesy & Copyright Riggs Stewart, Photographer

Ogden Valley Starry Nights (2016), June Fuller and Ruby Fuller Raccasi in memory of R Gale Fuller, Jake Songer, Artist, Photo Courtesy & Copyright Lisa Stoner, Photographer Ogden Valley Starry Nights (2016)
June Fuller and Ruby Fuller Raccasi in memory of R Gale Fuller
Jake Songer, Artist
Photo Courtesy & Copyright Lisa Stoner, Photographer

Milky Way-Night Sky Inspiration - Eden UT, Solenne Songer, Artist, Photo Courtesy & Copyright Lisa Stoner, Photographer Ogden Valley Starry Nights (2020)
Fox with Milky Way, Eden UT
Solenne Songer, Artist
Photo Courtesy & Copyright Lisa Stoner, Photographer

For millennia, the only sources of light came from… the stars, the moon, or a warm glowing fire at night, and bright blue sunlight during the day. All forms of life evolved with this very consistent day-night cycle.

In the last few hundred years, we have seen great advancements in lighting technology:

  • from the oil lamps of the 1700’s
  • to the “light-emitting diodes” or LEDs of today.

These advancements have changed our lives, and for the better! However, as human populations have grown, so has our use of light, and sometimes without much thought about how far light can travel, or the energy that is being used. Moreover, many of the LEDs used today are much brighter and bluer in color than the amber-colored incandescent lights of old.

“Light pollution,” is often referred to as sky glow, glare, or light trespass. It may be unintended, but is typically unwelcome, and can cause harm or discomfort. Reducing light pollution will have positive effects on the well-being and health of all living things, from plants and animals, to humans, including our mental health.

For example, light trespass that slips into a bedroom at night can affect one’s sleep. Not only is this aggravating, it can alter our circadian rhythm, which depends on a natural balance of serotonin, produced during the day under the sun’s blue light, and melatonin, produced at night in the absence of blue light.

As for our mental health, when we connect to something bigger or more profound, our problems tend to seem smaller. And being able to wish upon a star can give hope at any age.

In addition, most people need to feel safe in order to have a sense of well-being. Unfortunately, there is a common misperception that “more light is better” … when in fact, what might be safer, are what DarkSky International refers to as The Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting: all lights should have a purpose, fall where it is needed, when it is needed, be not any brighter than is needed, and warm-colored.

When outdoor lighting is designed responsibly, not only can we avoid light trespass, we can also rest assured that wildlife will be able to continue with their normal behaviors at night – birds will navigate to their seasonal destinations, newborn turtles will find the ocean’s edge, nocturnal pollinators won’t be distracted from their jobs, and food-finding and mate attraction won’t be interrupted.

When we think of natural resources, few of us think of darkness. If you hear the phrase, “dark skies,” this does not mean “dark ground.” I encourage everyone to think instead, “We can have light, but every day needs a night.”

This is Lisa Stoner, and I’m Wild About Utah’s Starry Skies.

Credits:

Images Milky Way-Courtesy US National Park Service, Emily Ogden, Photographer
Cache Valley sky, aurora & telescope photos – Courtesy & Copyright Riggs Stewart, Photographer
Paintings on Eden barns, Courtesy & Copyright Lisa Stoner, Photographer
Comet, Courtesy Pixabay, TheOtherKev, Contributor https://pixabay.com/users/theotherkev-9436196/
Featured Audio: Credit will be posted soon
Text: Lisa Stoner, Dark Sky Utah
Additional Reading: Lisa Stoner & Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah pieces by Lisa Stoner, https://wildaboututah.org/author/lisa-stoner/

Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting, DarkSky International, June 1, 2020, Updated June 11, 2024, https://darksky.org/resources/guides-and-how-tos/lighting-principles/

Kyba CCM, Altıntaş YÖ, Walker CE, Newhouse M. Citizen scientists report global rapid reductions in the visibility of stars from 2011 to 2022. Science. 2023 Jan 20;379(6629):265-268. doi: 10.1126/science.abq7781. Epub 2023 Jan 19. PMID: 36656932. https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.abq7781

Callaway, K. R., Thompson, Andrea, editor, How darkness might save migratory birds
Light pollution is dangerous for birds flying over towns and cities. Here’s how you can help, Scientific American, April 24, 2026, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-darkness-might-save-migratory-birds/

Harrison, Shawn, Dark Skies month celebrated with giveaway, The Herald Journal, April 6, 2026,
https://www.hjnews.com/news/local/dark-skies-month-celebrated-with-giveaway/article_fb0a9898-36cd-4f34-940c-a87c6694ab85.html

Night Sky Tonight in Logan, Utah, USA, Time & Date, https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/@5777544

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Cache Valley Sugar Beets and German POWs

Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory, Weston near Franklin, ID Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory, Weston near Franklin, ID
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
When I started teaching at Preston High School, one of the first books my English class read was The Diary of Anne Frank. I remember asking the class if they had any family stories of their own to share about those war years. A young woman raised her hand and said her grandparents had a painting on their wall that had been given to them by a German Prisoner of War. This POW had worked on their Cache Valley sugar beet farm in 1945. He’d signed the painting, and had written a few words of thanks on the back for the kind treatment he had received

I was astounded. German POW’s in Cache Valley? This led me to ask more questions.

I found out in 1945 there were close to 400 German POWs living in tents in a work camp at the Cache Valley Fairgrounds. Local farmers contracted with the US Government to hire the POWs to work in the fields for 80 cents a day.

Each morning the prisoners would get loaded into trucks and driven to a sugar beet field. The work day didn’t end until 8 pm when the prisoners returned to the Fairgrounds, damp and chilled, from the ride in the open bed trucks.

Sugar Beet Knives Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Sugar Beet Knives
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
In 1945, sugar beets were a profitable crop, but labor intensive. In the Spring, the beets needed to be thinned and weeded. This work was done by a short handled hoe. In the Fall, the beets needed to be pulled out of the ground. This was done by a special beet knife with a big fish hook on the end. Once pulled out of the ground, the top leaves were sliced off and the beets tossed into a pile bound for the sugar factory.

At the peak of sugar beet farming in and around Cache Valley, there were 5 sugar factories operating. But by 1945 the factories were down to two – one located in Lewiston, and the other in Whitney, near Preston.

Native Americans came from Arizona to work the beets and set up their colorful teepees in downtown Lewiston. High school students were let out of school for 2-3 weeks in the Fall to work during what were called “Harvest Vacations.”

A friend of mine in Preston told me about a young man who went off the college in the Fall of 1945, but came home after a week. His father handed him a sugar beet knife and told him if he wasn’t going to go to college, he was going to work in the fields.

Everyone I met who once worked in the sugar beet fields told me all the work of thinning and harvesting needed to be done while bent over, and the resulting back pain was terrible.

Of all the stories I heard, my favorite was one of a Logan beet farmer who took his 3-year-old daughter with him to check on the work being done by the POWs he had hired. One day, he looked up and saw one of the German POWs holding his little girl in his arms. The farmer took his little girl by the hand, but the POW didn’t let go. A guard came running over. But both men stopped when they saw the tears running down the POW’s face. Somewhere, many miles away, they realized this German POW had a little girl of his own that he may or may not ever see again.

Today, all the POWs have long gone, as well as the local sugar beet farms. But if you drive north on Highway 89, just before you get to Preston, you can see the remains of the Whitney sugar beet factory. These huge crumbling buildings stand as a reminder that sugar beets were once king in Cache Valley.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Featured Audio:
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Mary Heers & Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Postings

Powell, Allan Kent, Splinters of a Nation: German Prisoners of War in Utah (UTAH CENTENNIAL SERIES), University of Utah Press, January 1, 1990, https://www.amazon.com/Splinters-Nation-German-Prisoners-CENTENNIAL/dp/0874803306/ref=sr_1_1

Radford, Alexandria, The Old Sugar Beet Factory, Medium, Oct 7, 2021, https://medium.com/mind-talk/the-old-sugar-beet-factory-2e4b26f906d6

Arrington, Leonard J, Beet Sugar in the West A History of the Utah Idaho Sugar Company 1891-1966 University of Washington, 1966, https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Leonard-J-Arrington/dp/029574037X

Arrington, Leonard J, The Sugar Industry in Utah, Utah History Encyclopedia-website, Utah Education Network – UEN, https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/SUGAR_INDUSTRY.shtml

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Earth Day

Eyes on Earth, A sliver of Earth is illuminated against the blackness of space in this photo taken by an Artemis II crew member through an Orion spacecraft window on the third day of the mission. Credit: NASA
Eyes on Earth
A sliver of Earth is illuminated against the blackness of space in this photo taken by an Artemis II crew member through an Orion spacecraft window on the third day of the mission. Credit: NASA
Earth Day, Earth Week, and my preferred, Earth Year. Let’s pretend to join the Artimus 11 crew for a wild 300,000 mile journey to the dark side of the moon for an Earth rise. Suddenly a soul piercing view appears and with it, in a brief second, we are transformed into a profound Earth lover. Eyes mist. Hearts race. A deep longing sweeps over us, a homesickness never before experienced. This celestial blue oasis hanging in an infinite black void contains all that we are, all that we love, from the long arch of human history to this very moment, sweeps over us. Transfixed, transformed, filled with an unquenchable longing.

Now imagine our return flight as earth’s gravity plunges us ever faster toward north America, and Utah before veering toward the blue Pacific for splash down.

The Great Salt Lake at Sunset Courtesy Pixabay, BJohnson, Contributor
The Great Salt Lake at Sunset
Courtesy Pixabay, BJohnson, Contributor

Four planets and the Moon are visible in the twilight sky over ancient Bristlecone Pine trees at Cedar Breaks NM Courtesy US NPS, Zach Schierl, Photographer Four planets and the Moon are visible in the twilight sky over ancient Bristlecone Pine trees at Cedar Breaks NM
Courtesy US NPS, Zach Schierl, Photographer

Cedar Breaks National Monument- the Pink Cliffs Courtesy USGS Cedar Breaks National Monument- the Pink Cliffs
Courtesy USGS

Condor Committee in Zion National Park Courtesy US NPS Condor Committee in Zion National Park
Courtesy US NPS

National Parks in Southern Utah Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Natural Bridges National Monument, Zion National Park Courtesy US National Park Service (NPS) National Parks in Southern Utah
Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Natural Bridges National Monument, Zion National Park
Courtesy US National Park Service (NPS)
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/national-parks-in-southern-utah.htm

Cliffs Above the North Fork Virgin River, Zion National Park, UT Courtesy USGS Cliffs Above the North Fork Virgin River, Zion National Park, UT, Courtesy USGS

I’m reminded of the many flights taken to Southern California to train my AP Environmental science teachers, senses gratified by stunning views of the Great Salt Lake, a magnificent patchwork quilt of blues, reds, whites aware it’s teaming with brine shrimp, brine flies, and bird life, now sweeping over green, snowcapped mountains and high plateaus toward the red canyon country deeply incised by magnificent Colorado, Green, and Virgin rivers.

It becomes apparent that Utah has a unique beauty like no other, its varied landscapes replete with diverse life forms from Gila monsters to tetradactyl-like California condors, from over 800 bee species, to several thousand species of plants. Utah!! Home!

Considering this is factual fiction contrived by Jack’s brain, for all its splendor, let us pause over what I consider to be a standout to match a Great Salt Lake sunset- the Markagunt plateau. This magnificent piece of our beloved Earth has been sliced and diced into pure grandeur of deep canyons, much of which this mere Earthling has traipsed over- Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks NM, the shores of Navajo Lake, all resplendent with iconic species of life- pica, black hawks, black bear, Peregrine falcons, painted buntings, desert bighorn sheep, canyon tree frogs. Within the boundaries of Zion National Park our state’s highest biodiversity is found to match its magnificent, varied terrain.

Just to the west three bioregions merge where the Colorado Plateau intertwines with the Mojave desert and great basin spawning biological diversity beyond imagining!

Reaching across our marvelous state are stunning marvels- Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and an myriad of state parks that deserve national monument status considering their unique geology and grandeur- Snow Canyon, Goblin Valley, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Kodachrome Basin, Dead Horse, Goosenecks, Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake- Splashdown! Now back to reality, a lovely spring morning to celebrate Spring replet with canyon wildflowers, gushing spring runoff, and the return of neotropical birds bless us with their hatchlings.

This is Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society and I’m Wild about our otherworldly Wild Utah.

Credits:

Images: Earth -Courtesy NASA – Artemis II Crew
Courtesy USGS – Cedar Breaks & Zion Cliffs
Courtesy US NPS, Zach Schierl, Photographer,
also Courtesy US NPS, Condors and Southern Utah National Parks
Sunset at the Great Salt Lake Courtesy Pixabay, BJohnson, Contributor https://pixabay.com/photos/sunset-utah-great-salt-lake-6032689/
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections and
Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman.
Text & Voice: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading Links: Jack Greene & Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Wild About Utah Pieces by Jack Greene, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

National Parks in Southern Utah, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/national-parks-in-southern-utah.htm
Condors, Zion National Park, US NPS, https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/condors.htm

Arches National Park, Geology and Ecology of National Parks, USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/arches-national-park
Bryce Canyon National Park, Geology and Ecology of National Parks, USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/bryce-canyon-national-park
Canyonlands National Park, Geology and Ecology of National Parks, USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/canyonlands-national-park
Capitol Reef National Park, Geology and Ecology of National Parks, USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/capitol-reef-national-park

Cedar Breaks National Monument, USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/cedar-breaks-pink-cliffs

Utah State Parks, https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/

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Nature and Art

Mallard Drake Bird Guide Card, Student Art from Second Grade, Edith Bowen Lab School, Utah State University Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
Mallard Drake
Bird Guide Card
Student Art from Second Grade,
Edith Bowen Lab School, Utah State University
Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer

Dark-Eyed Junco Bird Guide Card, Student Art from Second Grade, Edith Bowen Lab School, Utah State University Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer Dark-Eyed Junco
Bird Guide Card
Student Art from Second Grade,
Edith Bowen Lab School, Utah State University
Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer

As an educator focused on outdoor experiential learning, I’m always looking for ways to integrate nature’s aesthetic beauty into my teaching. Aldo Leopold wrote, “Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language.” This quote epitomizes some of my own progression with noticing, with understanding quality, and with art. As someone, who, throughout life has dodged the necessity to engage in art, I would have never thought that my love for birds and my increased awareness of them, would one day help me appreciate the capacity for anyone, even an untrained artist like myself, to enjoy and value art.

I try to foster this appreciation for art through a routine and rigorous integrated series of bird sketches and colored pencil drawings with my second-grade students at Edith Bowen Laboratory School. Students study a unique bird species each week, and as a culminating artifact, create a Bird Guide Card. On this card they record the bird sound, size, habitat and an interesting fact. Additionally, they carefully sketch, color, and label notable identifying characteristics of the bird. This artistic portion of the week’s lesson has so many powerful learning benefits that I’ve seen develop in the kids.

First and foremost, students’ attention to detail is greatly enhanced. In the beginning of the year, students’ birds have an oval body, wings outstretched like an airplane’s, two stick legs dangling down like two grandfather clock pendulums, and a pointy triangle beak. However, as their perception of detail increases over the year, they begin to notice the subtle details that in fact, provide insight to the scientific principles of life; such as the change in angle after the hinge-like joints midway through a bird’s wing, the different textures of flight-feathers vs. down-feathers, or the various structures and shapes of beaks based on what diet is of primary concern.

Second, students’ patience and attentiveness in increased, which I think we can all agree are much needed traits in this world. Students who were so eager to outline a bird sketch and then scribble it with color at the beginning of the year, now are seen fastidiously sketching and erasing, thoughtfully blending various colors, and even seeking counsel from other classmates on whether this or that tweak would improve their artistic masterpiece.

Finally, I have seen my students develop an appreciation for diversity in peer artwork. Let’s face it, some people have a natural artistic proclivity, and some have to work a bit harder. However, my students no longer giggle or make snide comments about bad art. Instead, I hear kids say things like “Wow, Jim! That’s your best bird yet! I love the way you did the feet!” or “You got the colors just right on the tail feathers, Emily!” Instead of seeing students as bad artists, they respect their contribution and acknowledge beauty in various forms.

So I challenge you. Grab a pencil, paper, eraser, and colored pencils. Find a picture on the internet of a bird you’ve seen in the last week, and then zoom in! Start with a pencil sketch. Look for detail, notice, wonder. Try to capture those observations in your sketch. Then, move to colored pencils and attempt to shade, color, and blend until you’ve represented what you want. I hope you find, like I have, that whatever turns out, whether you realize you’re the next John James Audubon or your bird looks more like something that came straight out of Sesame Street, you will have entered a special thinking place where your focus on nature’s beauty enhances your ability to perceive quality.

I am Dr. Joseph Kozlowski, and I am Wild About Outdoor Education in Utah.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver and including contributions from Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman.
Text:     Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski & Lyle Bingham

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah:

Edith Bowen Lab School, Utah State University, https://edithbowen.usu.edu/