Landscape Architect Articles

Sea Turtles & Lighting Designers11-04-16 | Feature

Sea Turtles & Lighting Designers
Steve Parrott, VOLT???(R)???AE???? Lighting

Friends or Foes?

As mandated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Sheraton Sand-Key Resort in Clearwater, Fla., modified their landscape lighting to become turtle-friendly, which means that light visible from the beach is not enough to draw newly hatched turtles towards it. The hatchings rely on being guided to the safety of the ocean by natural light reflecting off the water. If they move inland instead, they are vulnerable to predators, vehicles and other dangers. The resort chose Rick Bequette of Brilliant Nights to design and install the project.

A Midwestern lighting pro may never consider sea turtles in his lighting plans, but these endangered animals are very much on the minds of professionals charged with illuminating beachfronts along southern coastal states.

Why the Concern?
All species of sea turtles have a tough time adapting to humans intruding upon their seaside habitats. The primary threat occurs along beaches where turtles bury their eggs in the sand. When these eggs hatch (always at night), the hatchlings emerge and must quickly make their way to the ocean - guided by natural light that reflects off the water's surface.

If any other light is present on the beach, such as from buildings, streets, or parking lots, then turtles become confused and head away from the water, making them easy targets for birds and other predators. That's why we work to eliminate (or change) the offensive artificial light whenever possible.

What Regions Are Affected?
Nearly all seaside communities in Florida have adopted turtle-friendly lighting ordinances. Other states, including Texas, Georgia, and the Carolinas have regional regulations as well. Even though West Coast states have large populations of sea turtles in their waters, most of those turtles have nesting grounds farther south in Central America.

A Turtle-Friendly Lighting Project:
The Sheraton Sand-Key Resort Located on the Gulf of Mexico, in Clearwater, Florida, the Sheraton Sand-Key Resort is prime territory for sea turtle nesting. With a long history of environmental responsibility, the hotel reached out to Rick Bequette of Brilliant Nights. His task: to upgrade the resort's lighting to fully conform to turtle-friendly guidelines.

The lighting upgrade involved significant changes. All path lights, area lights and spotlights throughout the property were to be replaced. And, the new lights needed to be of the long wavelength type (amber). Bequette worked closely with VOLT???(R)???AE???? Lighting, Tampa-based lighting manufacturer, to customize the required fixtures. Several fixture models were used including Elevator• brass path lights and floodlights and Infiniti G3 brass LED spotlights.

To reduce the monochromatic cast of the amber lighting, Infiniti G3 brass, LED spotlights with warm white sources and oversized glare shields were used to uplight palm trees with a minimal level of light. Tests were conducted to make sure the amount of reflected light towards the beach was acceptable.

Ok for Turtles, but Will Humans Like It?
There were many challenges in the project. One of these was to create amber area lighting around the large pool. And, to use amber illumination on pathways that led to the beach. Amber lights are not typically used as general area lighting and there was a concern that guests may not like so much of the oddly colored light.

To mitigate the monochromatic effect, Bequette used spotlights with warm white light sources - but only in very selective ways. Using spotlights aimed away from the beach, with oversized glare shields, he up-lit many of the palm trees with a minimal level of the white light. He tested these to make sure the amount of reflected light towards the beach was acceptable. He also put these lights on circuits separate from the amber lighting - so the white lights could be shut off during prime turtle nesting seasons.

Environmental Collaboration
The Sheraton Sand-Key project was a successful collaboration among many parties committed to environmental protection. These included the owners and managers of the hotel, the light manufacturer, Brilliant Nights and turtle experts from the nearby Clearwater Aquarium.

If we strive to be lighting designers committed to quality, then we should always consider how our work affects the environment. Note the following definition from the Illumination Engineering Society: "Lighting quality: The intersection of human needs, architecture, economics, energy, efficiency, and environment." While (in the definition) environment is the last word, in some cases, such as with turtles, it is the most important one.

What Are Turtle-Friendly Guidelines?
Turtle-friendly lighting guidelines are set by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC), and enforced by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

These guidelines have the following main components:
• Keep it Low. Mount the fixture as low as possible, and use the lowest amount of light needed for the task.
• Keep it Shielded. Fully shield the light so bulbs and/or glowing lenses are not visible to minimize light trespass. https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/lighting/
• Keep it Long. Use long wavelength light sources (ambers and reds) in the appropriate lighting fixtures.

As seen in LC/DBM magazine, November 2016.