Amanda Toska Interview

A Generation Without Stars: The Fight to Bring Back the Night

“I think it’s really fun . . . and [I] want to do it for as long as I can.”

— Amanda Toska

Amanda Toska is a self-taught astronomy enthusiast with a passion for fighting light pollution. As an avid member of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), a non-profit organization that raises awareness about light pollution, she recently joined their Pennsylvania chapter’s Board of Directors to help educate about light pollution in our environment and how it can be stopped. But what you may not know about Toska is that she is an almost-17-year-old high school senior who has never seen more than one constellation at a time in the night sky.

Toska is currently living in Bustleton, PA, a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia that is relatively close to where I grew up in the Philly suburbs. Due to the proximity of the city, Bustleton is a fairly light-polluted area, so unfortunately, you can’t see much when you go outside and look up at the night sky. But with a piqued interest in STEM given to her by her dad and the power of Google, Toska became more interested in astronomy, physics, and astrophotography in her freshman year of high school despite never experiencing a truly dark sky for herself. Toska told me, “I really was not able to see the night sky that often, but once I found out what’s actually there that’s blinded by the lights we have in our neighborhood, I was just kind of like, ‘Oh my God, I gotta do something to not have this here.’”

While going down those all-too-familiar internet rabbit holes researching ways to combat light pollution, she came across the IDA website. It is mainly a hub for resources about light pollution advocacy, public education, and environmental conservation, but you also can donate and become a member, which is what Toska did. After receiving an email blast to members advertising an open director position in the IDA PA chapter, she enthusiastically joined in to further help the cause. Even though Toska doesn’t make executive decisions, she helps to coordinate events and fundraising efforts and communicate information that can aid the IDA in reaching school district officials, governors, and policymakers that can help bring about change.

When I asked about Toska’s experience being involved in an organization like IDA, she told me, “I think it’s really fun . . . and [I] want to do it for as long as I can.” It’s a worthwhile endeavor that has given her a chance to make a difference when her young age could have been seen as an obstacle. Toska says adults struggle to take anyone under 18 seriously, so trying to contact officials herself to advocate for change was something that wasn’t a feasible option because “who’s going to listen to the almost-17-year-old crying about light pollution?” Being able to work within a robust and well-resourced community has proven to be more beneficial for Toska than just working towards change. She works alongside professionals in the field with astronomy degrees, from whom she can learn things and look to for inspiration. “It’s super fun to work with people in positions I want to be in one day. For anyone who’s young, it’s definitely a learning experience,” Toska mentioned.

Toska is invested in the long-term push towards light pollution mitigation and would encourage others like myself who are curious about the night sky to follow in her footsteps and look towards the internet for learning more. “Google is the way to go if you want to start out,” Toska told me. By conducting independent research online, looking through scientific journals, and immersing herself in the subjects she was most interested in, Toska knew so much more than what she did originally after only a few months. And, she says learning about astronomy and space can put life into perspective “because you realize . . . everything is so small in comparison. We’re just on this tiny rock in space and it makes you appreciate life on Earth more.”

After our half-hour Zoom call, I felt inspired by Toska’s passion for the night sky and her independent quest for knowledge and change. It’s unfortunate that so many people across the globe live under light-polluted skies and have never been able to look up at night to see the brilliance and abundance of stars, planets, and galaxies with their own eyes. But because of people like Toska who are dedicated to bringing back the dark, we can preserve this extraordinary experience of seeing the stars and getting interested in what exists in the space beyond our planet for generations to come.