Ask an older villager in Taro, a farming community in the hills of Bali, Indonesia, what summer nights used to look like, and you may hear about rice fields twinkling with tiny lights. Fireflies were once everywhere. Over the past forty years, they have nearly vanished.
One man decided he was not willing to let that light go out. His name is Wayan Wardika, and his patient work is the subject of a new report from the environmental news site Mongabay, published November 10.
A son comes home and notices the dark
Wardika grew up on his family’s farm in Taro. According to National Geographic, he spent years working in the cruise industry before moving home, where he found that the fireflies of his childhood had all but disappeared. In 2020 he founded a project called Bring Back the Light, which Mongabay describes as Indonesia’s only firefly conservation program.
Why did the fireflies fade? Reports point to several causes working together: fast development that turns farmland into housing and tourist buildings, brighter nights from artificial lighting, damaged habitat, and heavy use of farm pesticides. Fireflies use their glow to find one another, so they need real darkness and clean wetlands to survive. Mongabay notes that at least four firefly species in Southeast Asia are nearing extinction.
Raising fireflies by hand
On the family farm, lead scientist Cindy Chayani oversees a small breeding lab. The team raises firefly larvae for up to two years in specially built terrariums designed to feel like the jungle and wetland homes these insects need. When the fireflies become adults, about 90 percent are released into the wild.
So far, the project has released nearly 20,000 larvae and adult fireflies, and local counts are slowly beginning to recover. Wardika is honest that releasing fireflies is not enough on its own. His point is simple and wise: if the fireflies are gone, something is wrong with the whole ecosystem, and that has to be healed too.
Healing the fields, one farmer at a time
That is why the newest part of his plan is happening in the rice paddies. Wardika makes compost using manure from a nearby facility that cares for white cows, which hold a sacred place in Balinese Hindu tradition. He also brews a natural pest spray, called eco-enzyme, from food waste collected at local markets.
His goal is to help 35 neighboring farmers switch to chemical-free growing. To make that change less risky for families who depend on each harvest, the program gives farmers the organic fertilizer and eco-enzyme for free and helps cover losses while they make the switch. Four farmers have joined so far. The work is paid for in part by firefly tours and by selling the farm’s organic produce.
It is slow, humble work. But it is the kind of steady faithfulness that changes a place over time: neighbors helping neighbors, care for the land, and a willingness to wait for results.
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
John 1:5 (KJV)
Why this small light matters
Fireflies are more than pretty. Like a canary in a coal mine, they tell us whether a place is healthy. When they return, it usually means the water is cleaner, the soil is kinder and the night is darker, which is good news for birds, frogs, farmers and children alike.
There is something deeply hopeful in this story for people of faith, too. Scripture describes Jesus as a light that darkness cannot overcome. Wardika’s work is a picture of that truth on a small scale: one person noticing what was lost, refusing to give up, and inviting others to help bring the light back.
Bring a little light home
You do not have to live in Bali to help fireflies and other night creatures. Here are a few family-friendly ideas:
- Turn off outdoor lights you are not using. Use timers or motion sensors, and point lights downward instead of into the sky.
- Let part of your yard grow a little wild. Leaf litter and taller grass give young insects a place to live.
- Go easy on lawn chemicals. Ask at your local garden center about gentler options.
- Take a “dark walk.” On a clear night, step outside together, let your eyes adjust and count what you can see and hear.
- Talk about light. Ask your children where they see God’s light in the world, and how they can be a light to someone this week.
From a quiet farm in Bali comes a reminder for all of us: even when the night seems long, light can return, one small glow at a time. Through every storm, we rise together.
Do you remember catching fireflies as a child, and are they still around where you live? Share in the comments below.
Sources: Mongabay, “A plan to save Bali’s vanishing fireflies takes root in organic farming” (Nov 10, 2026); Travelbinger, “Bali’s Rice-Field Fireflies Are Fading, and a Farm-Based Effort Aims to Bring Them Back” (Nov 10, 2026); National Geographic, “Watch the night sky light up with fireflies in Bali” (Jun 10, 2026, background); KJV John 1:5.
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