Outdoor Lighting & Wildlife Protection

Wildlife Friendly Lighting Principles

HIGHLUX uses available resources to guide our product design, and our range of offerings to meet or exceed industry standards on ecologically-friendly parameters.  These include the AS/NZS lighting standards via the Australian Lighting Council covering expectations of the industry on matters such as obtrusive lighting, light spill and light waste, DarkSky Australian chapter specific to up-lighting and light pollution, as well as the Australian National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife.

While there is no globally recognised set of rules to cover off the many different environments and ecosystems, there is agreement and evidence for key principles, the best of which is to “light only where you need and nowhere else”.  It is common for customers from all sectors to approach HIGHLUX with Wildlife Friendly front of mind. Local and state governments, the mining sector, conservation and community groups, will often have their own set of environmentally friendly parameters, which we have found meet or exceed current approaches.  In each case, HIGHLUX is able to accommodate requested Wildlife Friendly parameters without compromising lighting compliance standards. 

Best Practice Lighting Design for Outdoor Lighting

Source: National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife 2023

The objective of the Best Practice Lighting Design Guidelines is to strike the balance between lighting for safe human use of an area (AS/NZS 1158.3.1-2020) and the protection of the immediate ecosystem (DCCEEW 2023). HIGHLUX uses the AS/NZS standards as well as the Light Pollution Guidelines to inform our recommendations for all lighting as well as the adaptations needed to suit a specific wildlife priority. Once a decision is made lighting an outdoor area is needed, it is possible to achieve the lighting required for safe human use of an area at the same time as achieving the lighting parameters for wildlife.

The objective of the Best Practice Lighting Design Guidelines is to strike the balance between lighting for safe human use of an area (AS/NZS 1158.3.1-2020) and the protection of the immediate ecosystem (DCCEEW 2023). HIGHLUX uses the AS/NZS standards as well as the Light Pollution Guidelines to inform our recommendations for all lighting as well as the adaptations needed to suit a specific wildlife priority. Once a decision is made lighting an outdoor area is needed, it is possible to achieve the lighting required for safe human use of an area at the same time as achieving the lighting parameters for wildlife.

Wildlife Friendly Design Features

The Best Practice Guidelines translate to product design with options to suit a specific context. For example, the standard Solar Bollard Gen 2 is designed to be a very cost- effective solar light for AS/NZS Pedestrian Compliant pathway lighting, with in-build features to achieve standard wildlife friendly parameters. These parameters are summarised below:

Turtle Friendly Design Features

Within the Wildlife Friendly space, is the Turtle Friendly lighting which is a different light wavelength which many would recognise as the amber or red lighting (600-615nm). The amber hue is specific to turtle migration and breeding pathways.