For this year’s Clean Air Day on 20th June 2024, EarthSense, the air quality expert, helped future generations understand the impact of air pollution on their environments.
Clean Air Day was established by Global Action Plan in 2017 to raise awareness of air pollution and its harmful effects on our bodies and the environment. Clean Air Day increases people's understanding and prompts action to improve air quality for themselves, their families, and their communities. Every year since its inception, Clean Air Day has continued to highlight key air pollution issues and advocate for change.
On Clean Air Day 2024, EarthSense marked the occasion with Leicester City Council, which provided school resources, including a pre-recorded video assembly about Clean Air Day, organized activities at schools, and implemented school street road closures. EarthSense supported Leicester City Council by hosting ‘air quality data scientist’ sessions at Coleman Primary School and Montrose Primary School in the city, where Year 6 students became air quality scientists for the day. Lucy Vizor, Senior Digital Marketing Executive, and Kiran Mistry, Data Scientist from EarthSense, ran the sessions across six classes at the two schools, providing interactive air quality workshops and the chance to speak to a real air quality scientist.
Kiran Mistry, Data Scientist at EarthSense, said: "It was a fantastic opportunity for our air quality experts to get schoolchildren involved in Clean Air Day activities, helping them learn about the importance of good air quality and how we can all help address air pollution challenges."
EarthSense also donated a Virtual Zephyr® to each school, a virtual monitoring point that collected hourly pollutant data. This enabled pupils to investigate air pollution sources around the school site via the EarthSense MyAir® platform. They learned about the impact the school drop-off had on pollution levels in the morning and how actions such as walking to school, using park and rides, or choosing better routes away from main roads could improve air quality.
Will Warley, a teacher at Montrose Primary School who led the Clean Air Day activities, said, “It’s fantastic that EarthSense came to deliver 'air quality data scientist' sessions for the children at Montrose. These experiences are hugely valuable in building the children's scientific capital and helping them to see the diversity of roles within the STEM sector. Having taken part in the WOW Walk to School Challenge this year, it will also be fantastic for the children to learn more about the way our travel habits can affect local air quality."
EarthSense also attended the Newport Clean Air Day event on the 18th of June, where pupils at the Riverfront Theatre learned about air quality, its importance, and ways to help reduce air pollution. The pupils explored air quality with help from Chris Taylor, Public Sector Lead at EarthSense, who demonstrated air quality-related technology, including the Zephyr® sensor and MyAir® mapping software.
Tom Hall, CEO of EarthSense, said: “We're delighted to join the many businesses, individuals, and local authorities from across the UK who got together to raise awareness of this year's Clean Air Day on 20 June.”
For more information on Clean Air Day, visit www.globalactionplan.org.uk/clean-air/clean-air-day.
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