Bob Gent Community Leadership Award
Oct 22, 2021
This award is given to an IDA Chapter or Chapter member who has demonstrated outstanding achievement at the local level in combating light pollution and fostering support for IDA’s mission and programs.
Nobuaki Ochi
Japan
Nobuaki has worked diligently over many years to protect the night in Japan. Through his work, he has had a profound impact on the dark sky movement in his home country. Nobuaki leads the Tokyo chapter of IDA and has also been instrumental in the designation of the International Dark Sky Places in Japan – Kozushima Island and Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park, both International Dark Sky Parks. The process to designate Kozushima as an International Dark Sky Park involved Nobuaki working closely with both IDA and lighting manufacturers to modify their existing light fixtures to meet IDA’s stringent standards. Some of Nobuaki’s other achievements include introducing an environmental education program on light pollution and Globe at Night to students in Japan and measuring a reduction in light pollution during the earthquake in 2011.
