A CAMPAIGN to get dark sky reserve recognition for the Lake District has been launched.

Friends of the Lake District wants the area to become better known for its ‘spectacular natural wonders of the stars above.’

“It is sobering to think that an estimated 85 per cent of the UK population has never seen the Milky Way due to the rapid rise of light pollution over the last 50 years,” said a spokesman for the conservation charity.

The organisation is hosting two Dark Sky Project roadshows in Ambleside and Braithwaite next week and is on the look out for volunteers and keen star gazers to help give the campaign a boost.

The roadshows are designed to teach attendees how to take sky quality meter readings and give them an understanding about the use of energy efficient technologies that do not emit light pollution, which blots out stars to the naked eye.

Astronomer Stuart Atkinson, secretary of Kendal’s Eddington Astronomical Society and author of the Gazette’s weekly Skywatch column, said the public needs to be made more aware of the benefits protecting the night sky can bring.

“When you come to the Lake District you look around, you explore the fells and you admire the landscape,” he said.

“But we have another resource that is not being viewed or admired properly.

“The night sky is another side of the national park that we are not using. It is as if we had a mountain range we were not exploring.”

If the status was obtained, restrictions would be introduced to prevent light pollution. This could include controlling the way ‘electricity is spilled’ onto streets through the facing of lamp posts and lighting of buildings.

Northumberland National Park was granted the status by The International Dark Skies Association in 2013.

Visitor manager Duncan Wise said that if the Lake District received the international recognition it would not cause further obstacles for planners and developers. Instead, it would give them the opportunity to reduce light pollution and protect the night sky.

“It gives the chance for planners to assess whether a particular exterior light is needed in the first place,” he said. “For example if someone is building an extension, do they need artificial lighting and if so how much? Could they consider using a motion sensor instead?

“We do have an issue of over-lighting in rural areas but in comparison to larger towns and at a local level we can control the amount of electricity that is spilled in the night sky.”

Mr Wise added that having a dark sky park in Northumberland has provided a £25million tourism boost to the economy.

Workshops are being held at the Ambleside Parish Centre on Wednesday January 23 and at the Braithwaite Institute on Thursday January 24.