A pedestrian bridge connecting the island to the mainland was established and landscape architect Anita Ellefsen Hus masterminded the new 2.1 km nature walk around the island including the establishment of destinations along the route and subtly adjusting the landscape to enhance views out from the island as well as making the path accessible to all.

A year after the nature walk opened Light Bureau was approached to design a lighting scheme for the path. Designing lighting for an island that had previously been unlit was a rare opportunity to explore how little light one needs to see and to make the experience of the walk a truly magical experience after dark. In close collaboration with the municipality Light Bureau developed a design where the artificial light would balance visually against the night sky so that views out across the fjord could be maintained, avoid all glare and keep the light levels low so that the night vision of people using the nature walk would remain intact.

Realizing that most standard luminaires have been designed for bright urban environments and would be overpowering in an otherwise dark, natural environment, Light Bureau decided to develop a family of bespoke fixtures suitable for low light areas with a reduced light output and very well shielded light sources.

The luminaires had to withstand the harsh salt water environment of the island, frequent rainfall, the grazing sheep maintaining the landscape and kids playing on the island. Corten steel was the material of choice due to its robust qualities and natural patina that would blend in and be complementary to the natural environment both during day and night time.

In addition to bespoke luminaires that illuminate the majority of the nature walk, tree mounted spotlights were used to accent key, but otherwise inaccessible parts of the landscape and post top luminaires, in a dimmed down state with very good glare rating, illuminated areas of the path surrounded more densly by trees. The restrained use of light have resulted in a low power consumption. It is estimated that the lighting for the path 2.1 km path uses 575 W in its dimmed state, less than 0.3W per meter.

The end result is a nature walk that feels like an enhancement of nature, lovingly tailored for use by people.