Classroom to better air quality and sustainable transport
You tackle the following challenges:
Setting up collaboration with schools
Within the COMPAIR project, air quality is being investigated using citizen science. To this end, the VMM has set up a measurement campaign with two schools. Children often have a more open mind than adults and are flexible in their thinking patterns. Interesting activities in the classroom stimulate them to talk to their parents and work together on a topic.
Measurement campaign with pupils from De Krekel Primary School in Sint-Amandsberg
A group of fifth-year students from De Krekel in Sint-Amandsberg, near Ghent, took part in a pilot project on air quality measurements.
Diving into the World of Air Quality
The first two weeks were dedicated to air quality lessons based on the JOAQUIN educational package. Students learned about the different factors that influence air quality and the importance of having clean air.
Students go out and measure the fine dust from work to home
The VMM gave a presentation on the operation of the fine dust sensor (SODAQ AIR sensors) and installed it together with the students on their bicycle, scooter or backpack. Every morning the students kept their logbook. They noted the weather, special events and discussed the data on the KnowYourAir website together and what this meant for their living environment.
Fine Dust Route Walk
During a city walk through Ghent, the students looked at their surroundings with new eyes via their sensor. They saw the influence of wood burning, renovations and other factors on the air quality. The local differences can be quite large, which was also evident from the measurements they carried out on the way to school.
Conclusions and Creativity
In the final week they drew conclusions and had a lively discussion about the results. The students worked in workshops to make posters on which they presented what they had learned during the project. They also filled in a questionnaire to gauge how aware they were of air quality and the environment.
Measurement campaign with students from the Sint-Paulus Institute in Herzele
In the spring of 2024, two 5th grade classes from the Sint-Paulus Institute conducted measurements to learn more about air quality. The goal was to raise awareness about the impact of their choices on air quality and to analyze and interpret data.
Information and measurement projects
The project started with lessons from the teacher about air quality, followed by an informative session from the VMM and Digital Flanders about the SODAQ, Dynamic Exposure Visualisation App (DEVA-app) and Dynamic Exposure Visualisation Dashboard (DEV-D). In addition to measuring the route from school to home with the SODAQ sensor, the students also chose from four different measurement projects: conducting source research, making an air pipe sensor, drawing a wood burning map and finding a clean route.
Results and behavioral change
After collecting data, the students presented their results. They were also surveyed before and after the project to measure changes in knowledge and awareness. We found a modal shift among the students, with a 20% decrease in the use of private cars. At the same time, the use of active and collective transport (bus, train & carpooling) increased by 7%. In addition, the number of reported behavioural options to improve air quality increased by 71%.