Sustainable Silicon Valley (SSV) is launching the Clean Air Equity Project to gather hyperlocal air quality data from students in diverse communities from across the SF Bay Area

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clean Air Equity Project (CAEP) is an SF Bay Area community air monitoring project that explores air quality issues from pollution and wildfires in diverse communities by engaging students to explore their communities equipped with low-cost air quality sensors.

Students Collect Local Air Quality at School, Home, Community

By engaging students to collect air quality data, the CAEP is in a unique position to gather hyperlocal, real-time air quality data from places where students spend most of their time but where air quality has not been comprehensively studied.

If your school or district is interested in participating, contact SSV Chief Scientist Anthony Strawa at [email protected]

There remains a critical need for local air quality data to investigate suspected criteria pollutants from pollution and wildfires which can be contributors to asthma and other respiratory diseases.

Air Sensor Clips to Student's Backpack

The project utilizes BackpAQ, a low-cost sensor which clips to a backpack, and measures:

• Particulate matter (PM)
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
• CO2
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Relative humidity
• GPS coordinates

Students can interact with BackpAQ from the companion BackpAQ app that runs on their Apple or Android smartphone. 

SSV conducted a feasibility study using the BackpAQ monitors and the related software with students in East Palo Alto and Dublin. Students planned routes around their neighborhood and inside their home, and compared data, and experiences with classmates, and provided valuable feedback. Read more [here].

"Carrying the BackpAQ made me feel empowered to really discover what is happening with the air quality here" -- East Palo Alto Student

BackpAQ was designed and developed by SSV's BackpAQ Labs but is freely accessible to academic and non-commercial entities as open source. This enables students, schools, and other non-profits to modify and extend BackpAQ's capabilities.

STEM Education
Students participating in the CAEP will have the chance to participate in the Clean Air Equity Academy to advance both STEM education and community engagement. Students will receive training in and hands-on experience with advanced data science tools. The lessons we learn from this project will help others develop similar approaches tailored to their own communities.

If your school or district is interested in joining the CAEP, contact SSV Chief Scientist Anthony Strawa at [email protected] or (408)430-2768.

SOURCE Sustainable Silicon Valley

Related Links

http://www.sustainablesiliconvalley.org