Students are looking for smart cycling routes, NO2 and particulate matter
You tackle the following challenges:
Primary school De Kleine Stad has almost 300 students and as a MOS school (Environmental Care At School) has been actively committed to the environment for years. The location of this Antwerp city school between the busy Belgiëlei and the Lange Leemstraat is no stranger to this. Both are street canyons, narrow streets with a lot of traffic and exhaust fumes in combination with tall buildings. Air pollution in and around the school: the school is acutely aware of this. How can you ventilate and ventilate healthily? Can the playground be fenced off? And how do you involve parents and neighborhood even more, building on past actions? Everyone in De Kleine Stad set to work enthusiastically and together with these and more research questions.
The sixth grades are looking for the healthiest cycling routes
Even though there are parks nearby, a really 'clean' route to De Kleine Stad is not obvious. “By bike or on foot through busy streets, our students are used to it,” says Maartje Hamans, a teacher in the sixth grade. “But they are exposed to fine dust and other not so fine dust. At the beginning of the year, we looked for the least polluted route to and from school with the boys and girls of the sixth grade.” To this end, the students mapped out the routes they cycle. “They cycled different routes in each district at the same time,” says teacher Maartje. “For example, we investigated where students come into contact with polluting substances the least. The first group cycled a route to the Groen Kwartier in January. After that, other neighborhoods around the school followed.” For the testing, the students used sensor boxes that De Kleine Stad received on loan from the city. They were attached to a bicycle or a scooter. Those who went on foot simply held the box. “The students found the boxes easy to operate and they were very enthusiastic about the project.”
The first grade caught fine dust with tape and Vaseline
What is fine dust? How does it look? Where do we find it? The first grade of De Kleine Stad went looking for it. “We first looked for videos tailored to six-year-olds who could teach us a little more about this,” says Miss Camie. “That was not obvious. On the Smart Kids Lab site, we found a way to measure particulate matter in the air with a homemade particulate matter meter. We collected drink cartons, cut them out into rectangles, stuck a piece of double-sided tape on the back and smeared Vaseline on them. We glued our particulate matter meters to walls and a cupboard at various indoor and outdoor locations. Shocking observations did not result: some discolouration, house dust and a dead fly. But we visualized fine dust and made the children aware of it. In addition, we monitored the evolution of the amount of particulate matter on our meters in class every week. The students used a magnifying glass and the microscope for this. The children of the first year also went to the classes with their godmothers and godparents of the sixth year to talk about particulate matter and hand out extra particulate matter meters.”
Nitrogen dioxide measurements (NO 2 ) and detective work through the fourth grade
Too much traffic produces too much nitrogen dioxide or NO 2 and that causes irritation of the airways. The fourth grade carried out measurements using test tubes: at the beginning of 2020 they took air samples at various places in the school. Then they went to the lab. Miss Kim: "The results of the study clearly showed the major impact of traffic on the busy Belgiëlei on air quality. Fortunately, the air quality on our playground appears to be much better than on the street. In the classrooms, the NO 2 - concentrations are about half the concentrations outside. Slightly less nitrogen dioxide was measured in the rear building than on the front building. What is striking: in the front building there is no difference between the classrooms on the street side and the classrooms on the playground side."
The measurements were repeated in January 2021. The new results confirmed the pattern also measured in 2020. But what turned out: while the concentrations outside on the street had decreased, just higher NO 2 values were measured inside the classrooms. Because the school had started to ventilate better during Corona, the polluted air from the street entered the classrooms more easily.
The school therefore wanted to use CO 2 sensors to investigate whether the classrooms in the front building could be adequately ventilated by only opening the windows on the side of the playground. Due to Corona, however, the windows in the classrooms on the street side also had to remain open as much as possible, so this research could not be completed yet.
Go, parents and local residents!
The neighborhood of De Kleine Stad is not only busy, it is also quite cozy and solidarity. This is demonstrated by the annual cooperation with other schools on road safety and the involvement of many parents in previous actions on road safety and healthy air. The annual Haringrode traffic week is traditionally concluded with a traffic procession with the schools in the area. “ Last school year this was the starting signal for the cycle route research for the sixth year ,” says teacher Maartje. “ And because we think it is important that Pure Air is not only worn by the students but also by the parents, we also handed out particulate matter meters to the parents during our Winterfest at the end of December. My colleagues and I spoke to the parents about it and we explained the operation of the particulate matter meters so that they could also test at home ,” says Miss Camie. In this way, the support base for doing something for cleaner air is increasing.
