Megan Eaves

Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too,
The world’s heart breaks beneath its wars,
All things are changed, save in the east
The faithful beauty of the stars.
Sara Teasdale

We live in a universe driven by cycles and spectra, and darkness as much as day is an important part of our world. However, since the late 19th century, we have filled our planet with electric light and bleached the night, in some places almost entirely. The United States and Europe are now so lit up that 99% of people cannot see the Milky Way or stars.

The repercussions of this are only just beginning to be understood. Humans are generally diurnal (awake during the day), and we forget that huge swathes of life on Earth are nocturnal, depending on darkness to survive. Every time we flick on a porch light or drown the darkness with street lamps, headlights and always-on office blocks, we are slowly destroying the rhythms of our world in unimaginable ways.

Wonderfully, this is an easily and quickly reversible form of pollution that we can do something about right now. In addition to making our lives more poetic and beautiful, reducing light pollution also saves a lot of money and natural resources.

Nocturnal Conservationist, Dark Sky Writer

My passion for protecting the natural night has led me to working as a consultant, writer and speaker on topics of dark skies, stargazing, light pollution and astrotourism. My eclectic background as a writer, travel professional and amateur astronomer has given me a unique perspective that combines easy-to-understand science with cross-cultural dialogue and philosophy, poetry and the arts.

Nocturnal Conservation

Articles

How Starry Night Skies are Transforming Travel | Citizen Femme, Jan 2024
Land of the Long Dark Nights | Nightscape, Mar 2023
10 Hotels Where You Can Sleep Under the World’s Clearest, Darkest Skies | AFAR, Feb 2023
Why Northumberland is the best county for seeing the Milky Way and nocturnal wildlife | Metro, Jan 2023
Starry, starry night: why Exmoor’s new dark sky walking trail is midwinter magic | The Independent, Dec 2021
Who owns the night sky? The threat of satellites | Nightscape, Issue 106, Dec 2021
Fefo Bouvier: Soul of a Stargazer | IDA Monthly STAR, Dec 2021
Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel: Light Pollution Researcher and Space Pirate | IDA Monthly STAR, Oct 2021
Playing the long game | Nightscape, Issue 105, Sep 2021
A Dark Sky Mission in Argentina | IDA Monthly STAR, July 2021
Speed of Night: Racing to Protect Britain’s Dark | Nightscape, Spring 2021
Wild Atlantic Skies in Ireland’s County Mayo | IDA Monthly STAR, May 2021
Astrotourism as a Force for Good | IDA Monthly STAR, Mar 2021
Under the Desert Sky: Darkening the Way in Bahrain | IDA Monthly STAR, Nov 2020

Media Work

Dec 2023: Quoted by Citizen Femme on the dark sky travel trend for 2024
Oct 2023: Video for the UN World Tourism Organization’s General Assembly
Sep 2023: PBS NewsHour segment on light pollution in the UK
Jul 2023: Radio interview on Manx Radio about dark skies on the Isle of Man
May 2023: Quoted in the Wall Street Journal on dark sky travel
Mar 2023: Quoted in Readers Digest on dark sky places in the UK
Dec 2021: TV interview with City University Journalism about light pollution in London
Nov 2021: Quoted by Energy Live News about Westminster’s historic gas lamps
Jul 2021: Interviewed by the BBC about light pollution
Jun 2021: In-depth video interview on Welcome to My World podcast
Mar 2021: Interviewed by the Travel Magazine about astrotourism
Feb 2021: Quoted in The Telegraph‘s feature on dark sky stargazing
Feb 2021: Quoted in Weekend Magazine on British stargazing and Dark Sky London
Sept 2020: Mentioned in the Washington Post‘s guide to urban stargazing
August 2020: Quoted in the Evening Standard about stargazing in London
August 2020: International Dark-Sky Association feature about my dark-skies advocacy work
April 2020: Conde Nast Traveler España feature on lockdown stargazing
April 2020: StyleBlueprint feature on new quarantine hobbies
March 2020: CNN article about my lockdown stargazing sessions

Work With Me

If you are an organisation, start-up or individual who shares my ethos and would like to collaborate on a project, please get in touch. My services are broad ranging and include tourism consulting, media work, interviews, content creation, training, presentations and nighttime events that help draw awareness to the beauty and importance of the natural night, as well as learning to alleviate fear of the dark.

Content & Communications
First and foremost, I’m a storyteller. Writing is my true love.

I’m currently writing a book that is a philosophical travel and nature memoir about darkness, stargazing and human nature.

With 15 years’ experience in print publishing and digital media, I am an expert content creator. Perhaps you have a product or service and need beautifully written words to engage and inspire your users or guests. Or maybe you require an eagle-eyed edit or thoughtful curation of words and images for your dark-sky park brochure, astronomy website, stargazing app or academic book.

Astrotourism Consulting

Astrotourism – tourism focused on experiencing the night sky – is a hugely growing trend in the travel industry. With my long experience in travel publishing and consulting, I combine my passions and expertise to help destinations and tourism providers in understanding this lucrative new sector.

In the wake of COVID-19, tourism products will need to be greener, more sustainable and more focused on local natural surrounds, which makes astrotourism a prime example of the way forward for the travel industry. I offer:

• Astrotourism training for tourism providers and hoteliers
• Full-scale astrotourism product development for parks, tour companies and destinations
• Consulting on the process of creating an IDA-accredited dark-sky park
• Helping destinations attract and engage with astrotourists
• Working with developing nations to better leverage astrotourism
• Leading night-sky tours, both locally and internationally
• Advising on content, marketing and PR for astrotourism places

Speaking & Presentations

I offer speaking services and presentations about protecting the night sky, the importance of darkness, light pollution and general astronomy:

• Speaking at events and conferences
• Training for organisations, companies or government bodies
• Media work, such as giving interviews, appearing on podcasts or sitting on expert panels
• Astronomy and light-pollution education for schools and youth groups

Dark Skies for Wellness

Recent scientific studies have proved that nature is a fundamental aspect of human well-being. I am deeply interested in the ways that darkness and stargazing can have a positive influence on mental and emotional health. I am researching the philosophy of darkness and am interested in working on projects that combine psychology, sociology, spirituality and mindfulness to utilise darkness and the night sky for emotional healing.

Social Media

I am the creator of #starentine, a popular online stargazing event that has showed people how to view the night sky from home during the COVID-19 lockdown. I enjoy finding innovative ways to help people connect with the stars and the natural night through social media, and can work with organisations to create social campaigns or increase their visibility and reach on social channels.

Even if your project doesn’t quite fit with what’s listed above, I want to hear from you!

Please get in touch to chat about my availability and services.