Bethel artist Mattie Rose Templeton illustrates importance of dark skies

BETHEL CITIZEN • April 24, 2024

Bethel artist Mattie Rose Templeton grew up off-grid “in the dark” and rather ironically is the illustrator for the Appalachian Mountain Club’s first children’s book, “If You Can See The Dark.” The book teaches children about the importance of dark skies for animals, plants and people. She said the book, in part, promotes AMC’s Maine Woods International Dark Sky Park at the edge of the North Maine Woods. It’s an expanse of more than 14,000 square kilometers of largely uninhabited forest land that stretches from Monson, Maine, to the Canadian border. According to the AMC website, the region is one of the darkest places remaining on the East Coast.