"Healthy Outdoor Lighting: The Benefits of Protecting Dark Skies and Reducing Light Pollution” will be presented Thursday, Jan. 29, at  2 p.m., at Rockland Public Library.

How does outdoor lighting impact our health, bird migratory patterns, and pollinator populations? This presentation will cover these issues, as well as what steps we all can take to save energy, improve health outcomes, and enhance our enjoyment of the night sky, according to the Library, in a news release.

Jan Heimlich is a freelance writer who lives in Rockland and oversees a weekly discussion group called Middle Ground that aims to find common-sense solutions to ongoing challenges. She is a board member of Dark Sky Maine, a nonprofit organization that promotes Maine’s dark sky heritage. As a member of the Rockland Energy and Sustainability Advisory Committee, Heimlich has launched an 18-month Healthy Outdoor Lighting awareness campaign to share with the community the benefits of improving outdoor lighting so it saves energy and cost, protects the health of humans, birds, and insects, and enhances our enjoyment of the night sky.

John Meader began teaching astronomy in 1979 as a student at the University of Maine's Jordan Planetarium. From 1973 to 1988, he was the director of the Francis Malcolm Science Center Planetarium in Easton, Maine, and has taught various observational astronomy classes at the University of Maine at Orono, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and Kennebec Valley Community College. For the last 38 years, Meader has been sharing his love for the night sky with his portable Northern Stars Planetarium that welcomes under the dome over 15,000 students each year. He is a fellow of the International Planetarium Society and the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society and a founding member of Dark Sky Maine. Meader, who has a passion for photography, has shown his work in more than 20 photography shows. He and his wife, Laura, live in Fairfield, Maine.

This event will take place in the Community Room. For more info, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov.

The Rockland Public Library is located at 80 Union Street.