 The designation was made in January 2011, following an audit by the IDA in 2010.The award is significant in that Sark is the first island community to have achieved this; other Dark-Sky Places have, up to now, been mainly uninhabited areas, and IDA chairman Martin Morgan-Taylor commended Sark residents for their effort.After the designation was granted, Sark Astronomy Society worked to secure funds for an astronomical observatory on the island.