Southend-on-Sea City Council are encouraging pupils, teachers, parents and residents to make small changes to their daily routines to promote better air quality.
As part of a commitment to improving air quality across Southend, the council started working with 11 schools last year on an innovative two-year Clean Air Schools Project thanks to a £256,285 grant from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
In the first year the government's air quality grant was used to purchase air quality monitoring equipment to help develop knowledge about local pollution and consider interventions that could improve air quality and reduce pupil exposure to pollution.
All 11 schools involved in the project have already had the monitoring equipment installed for three months during the first year to collect air quality data. The equipment will be reinstalled to monitor air quality over the coming months, following the installation of mitigation measures including air purifiers, to assess any reduction in pollution concentrations.
In addition, new project initiatives are planned to encourage everyone to take simple steps to protect their health, and their families' health, from air pollution, including:
- Anti-idling signage will be installed in all 11 schools to help raise awareness of the damaging impact that air pollution from idling driving can cause. The Anti-Idling campaign will also be visible across the city. More information about this is available to encourage residents to consider the impact their car journeys and driving behaviours have on the environment. It can be found on the council website Air quality pages.
- A 'living green wall' will be installed later this year in St. Mary's School, Prittlewell. This installation will act as a natural air filter, trapping airborne pollutants and particles, resulting in cleaner and healthier air for everyone. It will also reduce concentrations of air quality pollutants between the road and the playgrounds and school buildings.
Councillor Lydia Hyde, cabinet member for climate, environment and waste, said: "It's really encouraging to see the Clean Air Schools Project is being embraced by local schools as it means we can determine where there are harmful levels of air pollution and devise specific interventions especially in and around schools along the A127 and A13.
"Students now have a better understanding of air pollution, following the activities from last year, and what they can do about it, and have been involved in the new initiatives.
"I'm particularly pleased that we're launching an anti-car idling campaign, as this will significantly improve air quality in our city, and the installation of a 'living green wall' at one of our schools is exactly the type of innovation we need to adopt to protect our children's lungs."
Councillor Maxine Sadza, cabinet member for social care and healthier communities, added: "Cleaning up our air is good for us in many ways: it not only benefits our physical health and the environment but can also protect our mental and brain health. The physical health impacts of air pollution, such as asthma, heart disease and cancers, have been recognised for decades. More recently, researchers are beginning to understand how air pollution can affect the brain and the mind."