The Council have produced an air quality toolkit which can provide schools with a series of interesting scientific activities to present to pupils, which are expected to promote understanding of the causes and impacts of air pollution, as well as tools to identify areas of poor air quality around a school.
It is expected that the use of this air quality toolkit will:
The Air Aware Schools Toolkit has been adapted from:
It is expected that the citizen science activities presented in this toolkit will help raise awareness and assist in reducing children’s exposure to air pollutants, within the school and through their travel within Ipswich.
Our Air Quality Officers are happy to visit schools and give lessons on air quality as well as providing advice on how to use the Air Aware Schools Toolkit. Please get in touch if you would like an event at your school and/or require further advice on how to use the toolkit: environmental.health@ipswich.gov.uk
The Council have also produced a short video which can be played within schools aimed at raising awareness of air quality. It can be accessed on YouTube.
Other resources:
Ipswich Borough Council have previously teamed up with Road Safety Officers from Suffolk County Council to run a series of anti-idling events at schools across the Borough as part of the Suffolk Idling Action Campaign.
Anti-idling events are behaviour change campaigns which help reduce localised air pollution caused by motorists who leave their engines running when parked. Local authorities, councillors and volunteers work to educate both motorists and pedestrians. Our approach is to invite drivers to join our campaign and switch off their engines when parked. When approached in a friendly way, the majority of drivers switch off when asked, and many pledge to give up the idling habit for good.
Please get in touch if you would like an event at your school: environmental.health@ipswich.gov.uk
For more information on the Suffolk Idling Action Campaign.
Developed by the University of Manchester, Charities Global Action Plan and the Philips Foundation have launched the Clean Air for Schools Framework, a free online tool that gives schools and local authorities a bespoke blueprint of actions for tackling air pollution in and around the school premises.
The Framework, which includes a database of 50 actions, is particularly important for schools in air pollution hotspots across the UK and Republic of Ireland and will enable them to:
The Framework is based on new analysis conducted by Queen Mary University which found that if outdoor air pollution is halved, there could be up to a 50% reduction in the number of children with poor lung function across the UK and Ireland.
A bespoke Clean Air Action Plan is created in three simple steps:
Access the Clean Air for Schools Framework.