Acanthis: Bird-Friendly Lighting System

Created by: Colleen Kompare, Raina Koshal, Apoorva Somani, Guillermo Velasco.

Email: youthprograms@adlerplanetarium.org

Light pollution is when poorly implemented lighting leads to unwanted, excess artificial lighting. This is the reason we cannot see the Milky Way from our homes and why, even at night time, it's never truly dark outside. Light pollution has more detrimental effects as well. For example, it affects our circadian rhythms, the natural process in the human body which regulates sleep, as well as nature through hindering plant growth and disrupting the natural life-cycles of animals and insects.

Because approximately “80% of the nearly 630 terrestrial species of birds regularly occurring in North America migrate at night”, it is imperative to create a suitable nighttime environment for birds which allows for the natural process to occur. This is why, for our project, we will be focusing on mitigating the effects of light pollution on birds at Chicago’s Montrose bird sanctuary/harbor area. Our location brings many challenges as the harbor requires there to be some source of light 24/7, the current lighting system is disruptive towards birds, and the area is home to a variety of endangered species. Read on to see the work we, Team Volucris, have done to create The Acanthis Project- a 3D sustainable lighting diagram of Montrose Harbor!

For our diagram, we had 3 main goals: ensuring that lights are only on when necessary, limiting the light exposure to only where it is necessary, and having light colors which are least impactful for both humans and birds. We controlled lighting while also following the requirement of 24/7 light sources by utilizing our SQM sensors to only turn lights on when they detect that there is not adequate lighting in the area. Next, we restricted light exposure through shielded walkway lights which only light up necessary areas. We faced a challenge when choosing light colors because white light is best for birds but warmer colored lights are better for humans. Our solution was keeping the lights at white for birds and using pressure detecting piezoelectric sensors to change lighting colors to red if people passed by. Additionally, we introduced a RGB sensor to collect data at all times.

USB-Arduino Cable

12 Male-Male wires

15 Male-Female wires

A Breadboard

4 Regular LEDs: Two red, two white

A micro SD card

A RGB sensor

A SQM sensor

4 Alligator clip wires

A Teensy 4.1 board.

4 1K resistors

Arduino Genuino Application

7 Wooden skewers

2 toothpicks

Popsicle sticks: 2 wide, 3 normal

Construction paper: One sheet of green, One sheet of white, One sheet of black, and two extra in colors of your choice

A glue stick

A hot glue gun

Scissors

An Exacto-knife

2 Black foam boards

Use the diagrams above to wire your breadboard. Plug your Teensy 4.1 into a USB port in your computer and upload the code included in the file at the bottom of this Instructable. Set it aside.

Cut a strip of green construction paper about 3 1/4 inches wide. Glue it to the left side of one of the black foam boards. Next, cut a 4-inch strip of white construction paper and glue it next to the green strip. This will create the grass and walkway area.

First, cut out a slit in the foam board two inches from the side. It should be wide enough for the piezoelectric sensor to fit through. Repeat on the other side.

Next, put hot glue on one end of a wide popsicle stick. place it next to one of the slits, with the slit lining up with the middle of the popsicle stick. Place a rule under the unglued end of the popsicle stick and wait for it to dry. This will allow space for the piezoelectric sensor. Repeat these steps, placing another popsicle stick parallel to the other. This will create a dock.

Repeat the previous steps to make a dock on the other side.

Poke four small holes through the foam board at the end of the glued side of the popsicle sticks. This is where the LEDs will go. Repeat on the other side.

Next, Glue three wooden skewers onto the green paper "grass." Make cones out of green paper and glue them to the tops of the skewers. This will create the trees.

Next, glue two wooden skewers on either side of the white strip of paper. This creates the sides of the walkway.

First, glue four half-skewers to the second foam board. Use lots of hot glue and let dry COMPLETELY. Make sure the skewers are stable and will wobble minimally.

Next, add glue to the top of each skewer. Place the board with the diorama on top and let dry COMPLETELY. Place your already-wired breadboard on the bottom foam board. (Directions on how to wire the breadboard are included in diagrams at the bottom of this Instructable.)

Take one Piezoelectric sensor and push it up through a slit by a "dock." Tuck it under the popsicle sticks. Do the same on the other side.

Next, take the LEDs that correspond to the first piezoelectric sensor and remove them from the breadboard. Poke them through the holes on the end of the docks. Attach them to Male-Female wires and place the other ends of the wires where the LED legs would go. Do the same for the other set of LEDs.

Poke three holes next to one of the "docks." Remove the SQM sensor from your breadboard and put the legs through the holes. Attach Male-Female wires to the legs and place the other ends of the wires in the spaces where the legs would go on the breadboard.

Cut a small strip of black construction paper and make it into a cylinder approximately the same size as the RGB sensor. Glue it down next to the "dock" without the SQM sensor.

Cut a slit wide enough for wires to fit though next to the paper cylinder. This is where the RGB sensor wires will go.

Remove your RGB sensor from your breadboard and place it atop the cylinder, with the legs on the outside, above the slit.

Attach Male-Female wires to the legs of that are in use and put the other ends of the wires where the legs of the RGB sensor would go.

Cut two small strips of black construction paper. Hot glue them down over each set of lights. Then, cut a small rectangle of black construction paper and glue it behind the lights so light does not seep out the back and into the "water."

Make the bench: glue three popsicle sticks together. Glue two half-toothpicks on either side to create the legs of the bench. Let it dry, then flip it over. Break the remaining wooden skewers in half and glue them together and then to the bench base to make your bench. Let dry, then glue the bench to the green area beside the "trees."

Make the boats: Use the tutorial here to create two paper boats with the extra sheets of construction paper, then place them at the "docks."

You're finished!

This is a flowchart of the entire code for the SQM, RGB and Piezo Sensors to demonstrate how the code works. The pink diamond blocks represent options depending on the sensors. Here you can find our code files. Make sure to have the Arduino application installed on your device.

Above you can see the original design of our diorama. We made them using the TinkerCAD program. When we actually built our dioramas, some small changes were made to the design, such as having less trees and only one bench.

Also, you can click here for the final code, fritzing diagrams, architectural diagrams, etc. to help with your project.

We would like to thank all the people who helped us along in creating this project. Thank you to Jesus, Geza, Ken, Chris, Aanika, and all the rest of the ASW participants. We couldn't have done it alone.

The Acanthis Project is essential in the effort to lower the amount of light pollution in the Chicago area. As a result of light pollution, humans and animals are detrimentally affected by the amount of excess light, and often our circadian rhythms and natural life-cycles get disrupted. Birds are a great example, as a majority of birds migrate at night, when light pollution is most impactful. By implementing the Acanthis Project, not only can we make the Montrose Harbor area more environmentally friendly, but we can also make it safe for both humans and birds.

However, the Acanthis Project is just a small step in eliminating light pollution. Light pollution is a rampant, worldwide problem, and it will take much change and effort to stop it. We encourage you to spread awareness and do research on light pollution, so that, little by little, we can eradicate light pollution and make the world a healthier, safer place for both nature and humans.