Name: Samyukta Manikumar
Location: Kenya
Initiative Title: Noctura
Short Description of Initiative: Excessive artificial light harms wildlife and ecosystems, especially nocturnal species, yet light is not broadly recognized as an environmental pollutant. Samyukta’s initiative explores how Indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage can support dark sky conservation and nocturnal habitat protection.
Sectors: Astronomy, Tourism, Dark Sky Conservation
Website: samyuktamanikumar.com
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nocturanightsky/, https://www.instagram.com/__noctura
Samyukta Manikumar advocates for dark sky conservation, working at the intersection of astrotourism, ecology, and cultural heritage. Blending ecological and Indigenous knowledge and astrotourism, Samyukta’s mission is to create new sustainable tourism models that protect natural darkness while empowering local communities.
Her expertise encompasses both theoretical and practical astronomy, complemented by a sensitivity to rural economic contexts and an evolving understanding of nocturnal ecosystems. She is passionate about reshaping our relationship with natural darkness, not just as a backdrop for stargazing but as an essential ecological and cultural resource.
In this conversation, Samyukta shares her vision for preserving the night sky, the surprising lessons she’s learned from Indigenous perspectives, and why changing how we see the night is key to protecting it.
There hasn't been a single defining moment. My path has been shaped by a lifelong fascination with both the night sky and the natural world. My journey has been a gradual exploration and evolution of interests that continues to be fueled by many little sparks along the way: moments of awe under a starry sky, interacting with nocturnal creatures, and learning different cultural interpretations of the night sky.
I work to change how people perceive the night, both as a physical space and as a concept. This involves challenging deeply ingrained biases against darkness. I work to shift those perspectives by highlighting the ways that nature and wildlife depend on the night, and by elevating Indigenous and cultural perspectives of the night sky as valid and worthy of preserving. As we lose more natural darkness to light pollution, we are not only harming nocturnal ecosystems but also erasing cultural heritage and knowledge systems that have existed for millennia.
All life on Earth has evolved in sync with natural rhythms of day and night. But because of light pollution (the excessive use of outdoor lights at night), we are losing access to natural night. This is devastating to ecosystems, since a large portion of life on Earth is nocturnal and needs darkness to survive. In Kenya, this includes species like lions, hyenas, owls, and insects that rely on night to feed, move, and reproduce, as well as the communities who live alongside them.
Cultures have also evolved with access to dark skies. These have shaped how people relate to the environment and make meaning from it. In many parts of Kenya, stories and practices linked to the stars are still passed down orally. But as more places urbanise and electrify, and the view of the night sky disappears, these connections to tradition and myth vanish with it.
My initiative explores how people’s experiences of the night sky can transform how we think about the night and encourage us to protect it. The current dominant way we relate to the sky is through science and astronomy, which abstracts the night into something that is ‘out there’ and separate from us. There is also a general perception of darkness as evil and light as good.
What I hope to do is help people experience nighttime as something more neutral, integrated, and closer to us in an ecological and cultural sense. I want to create experiences that are rooted in place, where people can encounter the night sky through a unique lens of Kenyan ecology and culture. Once people understand the importance and richness of nighttime, my hope is they will use light more responsibly, and the nocturnal environment will be better protected.
Kenya is inhabited by a large number of tribes with rich and unique cultures. These cultures have used and interpreted the night sky in unique ways that tie to their ways of life. Some pastoralist tribes, for example, use the Full Moon to move their livestock between locations to avoid both cattle raiders and predation from wildlife. Other tribes use particular constellations for timekeeping, harvests, and rituals.
Most of the country is still very naturally dark, but as it electrifies, this connection to stars and natural light cycles is eroded. Most of this cultural information is passed down orally through stories. As conditions of natural nighttime disappear, this information vanishes with it since the stories lose context. When these narratives are preserved and shared in appropriate ways, they become a form of continuity. They can reinforce cultural pride, protect knowledge, and incentivise the protection of the source of that knowledge: natural darkness and the nocturnal environment.
I had to let go of the belief that Western science is inherently ‘right’ or superior to cultural interpretations of the sky. While I deeply respect scientific knowledge, I have come to appreciate the wisdom and beauty in different cultural ways of interpreting the night. Rather than seeing one perspective as more valid than another, I’ve learned that both have their place, and that integrating these different ways of knowing can lead to richer, more holistic approaches to conservation. This shift has also been influenced by my early-stage research into oral sky knowledge from different Kenyan communities. I’m still exploring the best ways to engage with this work ethically and respectfully.
Looking up at the night sky and truly contemplating our place in the universe has the power to change how we see ourselves and our relationship to the world. These kinds of experiences can stay with us for a lifetime, influencing the way we interact with nature and inspiring a deeper sense of responsibility toward protecting it.
I don’t think I’ve fully learned that lesson yet. Indigenous wisdom is a different way of interacting with the environment that unfolds over time through direct experience. I expect that the most unexpected lesson is still ahead of me!
A sense of community and belonging, and encouragement to boldly try new things.
I was drawn to the opportunity to think freely, cross disciplinary boundaries, and connect with like-minded people. The environment and facilitation of the Co-Lab feel very nurturing, and I’m also deeply inspired by the work and vision of the other cohort members.
I hope people will become more sensitive to the night and natural darkness, not just as a source of beauty and inspiration, but as a vital ecological condition for life on Earth. I want the night sky to be seen as something worth protecting, not only for astronomy, but for the species, landscapes, and knowledge systems that depend on it.
In Kenya and beyond, I hope natural darkness will be recognised as part of the environment, not separate from it, and that this recognition will shape how we light spaces, how we tell stories, and how we guide others through the night.
This insight is part of a series highlighting our first cohort of the Exploration Co-Lab. Read more about the Exploration Co-Lab here.
You can also read more insight pieces like this here.
The content of this piece represents the author’s own views and does not necessarily represent the views of Unearthodox or of any of its collaborating institutions.
