Empowering the Next Generation with Real-Time Visibility of Air Quality
- EarthSense
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Air pollution remains a significant environmental risk factor. Polluted air has a detrimental effect on our health, our life expectancy, and costs our society considerably.
There is a clear need for action to reduce people’s exposure, tackling existing health inequalities and improving outcomes for all. We are now seeing some major interventions in public health across the UK to reduce pollution and improve lives - no more so than in the education sector with the younger generation, where behaviour change is being impacted at the school gates.
Clearing the Air in Birmingham
One outstanding example of these new interventions is EarthSense’s project in Birmingham, where we are working with Birmingham City Council to roll out a network of 376 real-time external indicative air quality sensors to participating schools throughout the city.
Our innovative Zephyr Lite air quality monitors are at the heart of the Council’s #ClearTheAir campaign. They are being installed outside schools, providing real-time data that reveals the stark impact of car-heavy school runs and idling engines.
#ClearTheAir was officially launched at The Deanery Church of England Primary School, which is setting a strong example in sustainable travel and environmental awareness, having earned a Good Level Modeshift STARS accreditation for its proactive approach.
Over the past academic year, the school has introduced a series of impactful initiatives aimed at reducing car use and improving air quality around the school site, using its two EarthSense monitors to track results. These include the launch of a ‘Park and Stride’ scheme to encourage families to walk part of the journey to school, the organisation of regular walking events, and the innovative use of an outdoor classroom as a sheltered waiting area for parents.
School workshops highlight Clean Air Day
At The Oval primary school in Yardley and Whitehouse Common primary school in Sutton Coldfield, EarthSense hosted interactive workshops where students stepped into the shoes of air quality data scientists. They explored what makes air clean, what air quality really means, the sources and impacts of pollution, how to interpret real-time air quality data, why children are especially vulnerable to pollutants and how simple actions like walking to school can make a big difference.
‘Educating students about the importance of good air quality’
Over 130 EarthSense monitors have already been installed onto the exterior façades of primary and secondary schools across Birmingham to support the Council’s commitment to raising awareness of the causes of air pollution, and the steps that can be taken to reduce emissions and exposure.
The results captured by the sensors will be made freely available to the public via a portal which will host downloadable factsheets with easy-to-understand data analytics, highlighting key metrics, as well as notifications of other Birmingham City Council air quality initiatives and events.
Councillor Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Birmingham City Council, said: “We’re proud that Birmingham is leading the way when it comes to educating students about the importance of good air quality, underpinned by data from EarthSense sensors, which are available free of charge to all schools in the city.
“The results captured by these sensors are enabling us to share our data with residents and partners, encouraging education and collaboration as we work together to achieve better air quality across the city. It’s time to clear the air.”
