Interactive Ecology Simulation
Night is not simply the absence of day — for many animals, it is habitat, navigational space, hunting time. Hedgehogs forage under its cover, moths navigate by the starry sky, migratory birds find their way using Earth’s magnetic field. Artificial light interferes with all of this, often without us noticing. This simulation invites you to look closely: what actually happens when a streetlight is on?
A few sliders let you adjust how bright a light source is, how warm or cool its color temperature is, and how severely the surrounding area is already affected by light pollution. The animals in the simulation respond the way research describes — sometimes subtly, sometimes clearly. A moth slows down after spending time in the light cone. A deer freezes briefly. The owl waits until it’s dark enough. The goal isn’t to provoke guilt, but to make connections tangible. Anyone who has tried for themselves how many fewer insects a warm amber light attracts compared to a cold LED might pause to think about that the next time they buy an outdoor light.
Change Your Perspective
In the „Animal Perspective“ section, you can press a button to „see“ as a human, a hedgehog, an owl, etc. The visual representation is simulated and adapted based on each creature’s physiological characteristics.
Take over Lighting
In the „Light Parameters“ section, you can use sliders to adjust the intensity and color of the light. Toggle switches allow you to quickly select common light colors such as „PC Amber,“ „Warm White,“ etc.
Additionally, you can shield the lanterns and set the degree of sky brightness using the Bortle scale set
Gathering insights
Depending on the selected intensity, light color, or Bortle scale setting, the scene and the animals‘ reactions to the conditions change. Migratory birds begin to circle when the sky is too bright, or moths swarm around the lanterns as the light color becomes cooler. Hedgehogs and deer become stressed, and the owl stops hunting.
Playful
The goal is not a perfect simulation of nature, but an honest, educational window into a world that we disturb daily — or rather, nightly — with our lights, and that we can also protect through more mindful choices.
Idea
Why should we turn off the lights? Why is warm light better for nature than cold white? What happens when the stars are no longer visible? How does shielding affect things? Everyday questions when explaining the topic of light pollution. Experiencing it yourself is always more impactful than hearing about it or reading about it. That’s how the idea came about to create an application that makes these questions tangible.
This application was created with the help of Claude Sonnet. As explained above, it is based on scientific findings, but makes no claim to absolute completeness or accuracy. It can, however, be further developed — feel free to get in touch with us at info@naturnacht-fulda-rhoen.de
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