As part of Light Night Leeds 2024, a free, large-scale arts and light festival celebrating creativity across the city, the Cultural Institute at the University of Leeds commissioned Greengage to develop biodiversity-focused sustainability content for a new campus installation.
The aim was to highlight local nocturnal species with an engaging approach, educate people on being mindful of light pollution and encourage citizen science.
Initially, bringing together the worlds of lighting and biodiversity seemed at odds, especially as light pollution is a major disruptor of natural ecology processes for many species, even in urban environments. However, we recognised the opportunity to use the festival’s reach and creative platform to reframe this into a compelling sustainability narrative. Rather than avoiding the issue, we collaborated on a concept that would highlight the importance of darkness for both wildlife and human wellbeing.
Working closely with the Cultural Institute and University Sustainability Team, we developed The Space Between the Lights – a nature-recovery focused storytelling approach designed to educate, engage and inspire action. The content spotlighted nocturnal species commonly encountered on and around the campus, alongside those that are present but less well understood, helping audiences connect everyday urban spaces with biodiversity. Species selection was agreed collaboratively and included bats, hedgehogs, foxes, blackbirds and peregrine falcons.
Greengage worked with the university teams to translate complex ecological concepts into clear, engaging and creative formats suitable for a diverse public audience. The project included interpretation panels with QR codes, immersive audio content for each species, and prompts encouraging mindfulness around light pollution and participation in citizen science. The content was integrated into a self-guided audio trail woven through the festival installations, allowing people to engage at their own pace.
Beyond the festival
The project received positive feedback from the client and festival stakeholders, who praised both the creativity and the depth of meaning behind the work. Following the event, the interpretation content was adopted as the university’s main digital resource on nocturnal biodiversity, extending its impact beyond the festival. The success of the project also led to an ongoing relationship, with Greengage continuing to support the university through wider ecology and biodiversity net gain work.
This project reinforced the value of tackling potentially negative environmental issues in a solution-focused and engaging way. By highlighting what people can do to support nature in urban environments, rather than simply outlining the problem, the work demonstrated how sustainability communications can build understanding, shift behaviours and create positive conversations between institutions, ecologists and the public.
Testimonial
“Thank you so much for all your work on The Space between the Lights. It is a lovely project, executed so beautifully with real meaning, and hopefully made some people turn off their garden lights! My colleague said the bat was his favourite bit of light night!”
Jo Nockels, Creative Producer, Cultural Institute at the University of Leeds
