SkyCare Live : Launching the RMIDSR Sky Quality Network

Join us for an extraordinary community milestone and a true day of "firsts" for the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve (RMIDSR)!

We are bringing cutting-edge citizen science into the daylight with a high-impact presentation showcase designed for local landholders, curious families, and nature enthusiasts alike to discover the incredible value of our pristine 3,200 square kilometre Reserve.

What is "Skycare"?

For years, we have used Landcare to protect our local soils, water, and native vegetation. Skycare expands that protection right up into the atmosphere!

It means treating our pristine night sky as a precious natural resource that needs local stewardship. By keeping our skies dark, we protect our nocturnal wildlife, support community well-being, and grow world-class nature tourism right here in our region.

What’s On the Program:

• 🎤 Official Opening & State Landcare Awards Celebration: A special welcome to open the session, set the stage for the Reserve's latest milestones, and lead a massive congratulations for our State Landcare Awards—celebrating Aimee Linke (Women in Landcare Award), Cambrai Primary School (Junior Landcare Award), and our own RMIDSR Committee (Landcare Innovation Award)!
• 📡 The Dashboard Reveal: The public debut and live demonstration of our custom Skycare Live Dashboard, showing the community how Night Sky Brightness (NSB) data streams securely from our stations straight to a dedicated website. Learn how to use the data and how we are establishing a permanent scientific baseline for regional environmental monitoring.
• 🚀 Scientific Milestone Presentation: A sneak peek at a new Australian Space Research Conference (ASRC 2026) paper, detailing our groundbreaking statistical techniques for tracking sky darkness in the RMIDSR.
• 🤖 Smart Scopes: Demonstrations of the next generation of astrophotography. Come check out the Dwarf Mini, Dwarf 3 smart scopes, and more!
• ⚙️ Hands-on Telescope Display: We are setting up a bunch of telescopes for you to check out different styles, handle equipment, and discuss technical setups directly with our team.
• 🛠️ Skycare Station Story: Stop by our dedicated tech table to learn the "how and why" behind what we do to protect our night skies and find out how to apply to be a Skycare Station host!

Event Details:

• 🕒 When: Saturday, 14 November 2026, 12:30 PM — 3:30 PM (ACDT)
• 📍 Where: Swan Reach Area School Gym (Completely weather-proof indoor venue)
• 🎟️ Cost: Entry is entirely FREE, but registrations are essential to manage seating capacity logistics
  • Skycare Live: LAUNCHING THE RMIDSR SKY QUALITY NETWORK

This pathfinder project is proudly funded by an Inspiring SA Community Science Engagement Grant and delivered in proud partnership with Mid Murray Landcare SA.