Wimberley HS Varsity Home Opener Spotlights City’s Environmental Cause

Texans will Kick off Under Dark Sky Friendly Lights. “We all benefit when we work together as a community to protect our natural environment including our night sky,” said Moreman. 

Wimberley, Texas — Kick-off for the first Texan Varsity Football home game will be under Dark Sky Friendly lights Friday, September 14.

Shining a spotlight on Wimberley Independent School District’s commitment to the city’s focus on environmental consciousness, Friday Night Lights at Texan Stadium are new and noise-free. Earlier this year Wimberley was designated, a Dark Sky Friendly community by the International Dark Sky Association.

“We all benefit when we work together as a community to protect our natural environment including our night sky. I applaud Wimberley ISD for their efforts to make a huge difference in this cause. Our students and future generations will be able to enjoy and be inspired by the stars, big and bright,” said Cathy Moreman, executive director, Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The District installed the Dark Sky Friendly Lights over the summer following passage of the $45.5 million bond package in May.

The lights at Texan Stadium minimize the harmful effects of light pollution—they only light the area that needs it, are no brighter than necessary, minimize blue light emissions and are fully shielded, which means they point downward and also importantly, are only on when needed.

“All of us at Wimberley ISD are really excited to have replaced some older, expensive lights which did not meet Dark Sky Friendly standards. In addition to supporting our community’s focus on preserving the night sky, we are saving money on costly replacement bulbs,” said Dwain York, Wimberley ISD Superintendent of Schools. 

In honor of the city’s Dark Sky Friendly designation, part of the installation also included a donation of four extra Dark Sky Friendly lights for mounting on trees and sports beams with an additional reflector for each stadium bulb.

“The extra sports beams, reflectors and tree lights really give us the full package to meet Dark Sky Friendly status for Texan Stadium. This is a win for our community and we are looking forward to a win for our Texans this week,” said York. “We invite everyone out for Friday Night Dark Sky Friendly Lights,” he added.

The Texans are 1-1 for the season and will take on the Canyon Lake High School Hawks. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

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Out with the old, in with the new Dark Sky Friendly Lights. Over the summer, teams removed all the old lights on Texan Stadium and replaced them with Dark Sky Friendly Lights and reflectors which minimize the harmful effects of light pollution.