“Lights Out Toronto” campaign kicked off to protect migratory birds
April 09, 2024
Global Korean Post
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The arrival of spring in Toronto is the start of one of two annual bird migration seasons that sees millions of birds travelling through our city, which serves as an important rest stop during their migration. Unfortunately, Toronto like other urban areas poses dangers to migratory birds – an estimated 25 million birds are killed each year across Canada due to collisions with building windows.
To protect birds during their migration, the City of Toronto has launched the “Lights Out Toronto” campaign – a city-wide campaign to address the issue of migratory bird collisions with building windows in Toronto during the spring (April 1 to May 31) and fall (September 1 to October 31) migration seasons.
The City’s campaign encourages the public to contribute to “Lights Out Toronto” by turning off unnecessary lights – defined as lighting not intended for security or safety reasons – during the nighttime, to reduce fatal bird collisions with buildings. By turning off non-essential lights in buildings, Toronto can be a leader in reducing the number of bird collisions and saving countless bird lives.
Toronto was the first city in North America to officially adopt migratory bird protection policies such as requirements for new development in the city that include bird friendly design for lighting features and glass in the Toronto Green Standard.
As part of the “Lights Out Toronto” campaign, Toronto residents and businesses are encouraged to:
- Turn off interior lighting at night, especially on higher floors.
- Close window coverings at night if lights must be kept on.
- Turn off exterior decorative lighting, pot lights and flood lights when not in use.
- Substitute strobe lighting and reduce atrium lighting whenever possible.
- Install automatic motion sensors and controls wherever possible.
