NORTHUMBERLAND National Park has been selected as one of five national parks to benefit from a new grant.

The park was awarded £10,000 from the newly launched Clif Bar National Parks Protectors Fund.

The money will be used to raise awareness of the park’s Dark Skies status, and to deliver a new dark sky-friendly lighting project.

Duncan Wise, visitor development and marketing manager at Northumberland National Park, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding from the Clif Bar National Parks Protectors Fund.

“This project will enable us to raise awareness of the issues around poor outdoor lighting and the cause of light pollution, and how it affects nocturnal wildlife and our health.

“It will also help residents and businesses to adopt good practice and replace bad lighting with better, well-designed alternatives, thus ensuring the pristine dark skies of Northumberland International Dark Sky Park are conserved for the wonder of this generation and the next.”

The two-part anti-light pollution project will focus on raising awareness of bad outdoor lighting on wildlife and our health, and adapting or replacing bad lighting with appropriate, fully-shielded lighting in the dark sky park.

The project is just one of five projects supported by Clif Bar, an American company that produces organic food and drinks.

The fund is based on a similar scheme that the company runs in the US and Canada, but is the first time the company has supported UK national parks.

The other projects, funded by Clif Bar, range from the installation of a bug hotel bike rack in the Broads National Park, to woodland protection in the New Forest.

David Smith, senior marketing manager at Clif Bar Europe, said: “Clif Bar is a purpose-led company committed to sustaining five bottom lines. These are our Five Aspirations – sustaining our business, brands, people, community and planet.

“Our partnership with the UK national parks truly embodies these aspirations by supporting the communities we live in and the planet we share.

“We are confident that the projects will help ensure that these outstanding landscapes we are so lucky to share with nature are available for generations to visit and enjoy.”