If you are interested in being involved, either go to the Peak Park website or first read their full press release below. 

Press Release – 02 February 2012 -ID 911
Help needed to hunt for Orion over the Peak District

People are being asked to help monitor the impact light pollution as they scour the heavens for Orion the hunter over the Peak District.

The aim is to scout out the best, darkest locations for star-gazing in the Peak District National Park and its surrounding areas.

The Peak District Dark Skies Group is asking people to go outside after 8pm on a clear night between February 16 and 23 to spot the constellation of Orion, with its distinctive “belt” of three bright stars in a line, with a smaller three-star “sword” below.

When they identify Orion, they will be asked to compare it with a series of star charts of varying brightness and decide which one most closely matches what they see.

People will then be asked to log their location, time and date, and send in their findings to the website www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/darkskies where they will find full instructions and downloadable star charts.

Light pollution is artificial light – street-lights, floodlights, security lights in towns and cities – which spoils our view of the stars, interrupts our sleep, and wastes vast amounts of energy.

The Peak District, with its uninhabited uplands and deep valleys in the centre of the country is one of the more accessible places to find a dark, star-studded sky. Surprise View, near Hathersage, was recently identified as a Dark Sky Discovery Site on BBC2’s Stargazing LIVE programme.

Peak District Dark Skies Group spokesman John Tanner said: “Our stargazing events have proved immensely popular over the past year, and we’d be really grateful for people’s help with our ‘Orion in the Peak’ programme, which they can do on their own.

“We held a similar exercise this time last year, and more than 200 people took part from across the Peak District and surrounding areas.

“Results showed 80% of people in the national park were able to stargaze under excellent skies, compared to 50% of people outside the national park. The best results in the national park were recorded at Monyash in the White Peak, and Edale in the Dark Peak.

“Light pollution not only affects our enjoyment of the night sky, it wastes energy and has a negative impact on the wellbeing of people and wildlife.

“Unfortunately, light pollution is increasing, so we are encouraging people to switch off unnecessary lighting and focus lights only where needed, or future generations may never experience the wonder of a truly dark night sky.”

The Peak District Dark Skies Group includes the Peak District National Park Authority, Nottingham Trent University, and several local astronomical societies.*

John Tanner is a research officer for the Peak District National Park Authority and a qualified astrophysicist.

*For those interested in star-gazing the group most local to us is The White Peak Astronomical Observing Group that meets regularly, with their next meeting at Hopton on 8th of February.

On a misty morning in the Peak District, the mysteriously named Chrome Hill and its neighbour Parkhouse, near Longnor, are brought to life.  Like a weary dinosaur, Chrome Hill appears to be sleeping. The spines on its back are grit stone, tough and hard wearing, but ready for the fight.  Both hills have views to die for and the scenery is simply breathtaking.

The majestic Roaches, on the western edge of the Peak District, north of Leek, rise out of the mists revealing a walker’s eye view from the top. The contorted stones are contrasted against the warmth of the sun, the heather a warm burnt amber amongst the bleak grey of the rock, a super area to walk.

Wind turbine proposal ‘too tall’ for national park

A planning application for a wind turbine has been turned down as too large for the protected landscape of the Peak District National Park.

The application was for a turbine 48.4 metres (159ft) tall from base to blade tip at its maximum height. That would be just three metres (10ft) short of Nelson’s Column – twice the height of any other turbine approved in a national park in England and Wales.

While supporting the need for renewable energy, the National Park’s planning committee decided a turbine this size would stand out too much on a protected landscape, harming its scenic beauty as well as historic field patterns.

It would be highly visible from public rights of way near the site, and also visible from the High Peak and Tissington trails and a wide radius around the area. In addition, the proposed extent, layout and species of trees planted to shield the base would be incongruous in this open, sweeping landscape.

Applicant Robert Gosling said the turbine would be expected to generate 498 megawatts of electricity a year for his large dairy and beef operation at Hill Top Farm, Parwich, near Ashbourne. This big investment would help sustain the farm as a viable business, producing double its present annual demand for electricity, with the surplus providing income from the feed-in tariff.

His supporters spoke of the need to adapt to climate change, the importance of sustaining viable dairy farms and the changing perception of wind turbines, with many people viewing them as graceful additions to the landscape.

Planning committee chair John Herbert said: “We’re conscious of the need to find ways to keep local farms viable, and we do support the drive for green energy, but not all such schemes are suitable for a protected landscape like ours.

“We have supported individual turbines at several farm locations, but in this instance the turbine was simply too tall to be acceptable. We understand that the applicant has explored and dismissed alternatives, but we believe there may still be scope perhaps for a combination of technologies that would be less damaging to the national park landscape.”

The Authority had received 32 letters of support for the application from farming organisations and local people, with one objection from a resident. Friends of the Peak District and Natural England both said it was too large but they would support a smaller turbine.

The committee was conscious that this scheme could set a precedent, not only here but in other national parks, if approved.

For a large-sized, printer-friendly version of these photos, please open the current school newsletter PDF.

Nottingham Trent University in partnership with the Peak Park are offering 60 free places for people to find out more about the Nine Ladies stone circle, on Stanton Moor, both on the ground and in the night sky.

Three two-hour sessions will take place on Sunday December 4, at 12noon, 2pm, and 4pm, starting at the Village Hall in Stanton in Peak, near Bakewell.

The events will include a short talk on the history of the stone circle, what to look out for in the night sky in December, a planetarium session and a 15-minute walk to the stone circle. The 4pm session will include a look at the night sky through telescopes (weather permitting).

Booking is essential as each session is limited to 20 people.  A waiting list will be used to prioritise bookings for future events. Dogs are not allowed. To book call 0115 8483518 or email daniel.brown02@ntu.ac.uk

Visitors should wear warm, rainproof clothing and sturdy shoes as the event will go ahead whatever the weather.  A torch is essential for the 4pm session.

Astronomy lecturer and archaeology enthusiast Dr Daniel Brown, of Nottingham Trent University, said: “The area around Nine Ladies allows you to explore the beliefs of our ancient ancestors that always were concerned with the sky above. This site offers the dark skies to see the stars in their full beauty.

“Visitors will have a chance to see the skies as they were 4,000 years ago in our planetarium show and we will have experts on astronomy and archaeology at hand to answer any questions.”

The Peak District National Park Authority and Nottingham Trent University are part of the Peak District Dark Skies group, set up in partnership with local astronomical societies to promote awareness of the special qualities of the night sky in and around the national park.

More Dark Skies events are planned for later in December 2011. To keep up to date and visit the website www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/darkskies

The events are made possible by the support of Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, and the Peak District Dark Skies group.

Please visit our website.  Contact us by email: info@peakparkwatch.org.uk or 01433 631436

“Peak ParkWatch are an independent organisation, and the opinions expressed on their website do not necessarily represent the opinions of the PARWICH.ORG blog team.”

All the planning documents can been seen on the National Park website or by visiting the Peak Park at Bakewell.

Does anyone know what the small piles of white powder around the village are for?

The children are obsessed with what it is and one tried to taste it.

Could you post and find out for me.

The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide survey, which aims to help in assessing the health of our environment. 10,000 people took part last year, counting 210,000 butterflies and day-flying moths across the nation.

According to the Big Butterfly Count’s website:

Butterflies react very quickly to change in their environment, which makes them excellent biodiversity indicators. Butterfly declines are an early warning for other wildlife losses. That’s why counting butterflies can be described as taking the pulse of nature. The count will also assist in identifying trends in species that will help plan how to protect butterflies from extinction, as well as understanding the effect of climate change on wildlife.

This year’s count runs between 16th and 31st July.

To take part, simply count butterflies for fifteen minutes during bright (and preferably sunny) weather, at any time between 16th and 31st July. This can be done anywhere: gardens, fields, school grounds and so on. You also should try to identify the species of each butterfly you see.

Then register your findings on the Big Butterfly Count website: http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/

The website contains all the information that you will need about the Big Butterfly Count – including an illustrated chart, which you can print off and use while you’re counting.