Essex County Council and Essex Highways worked in partnership to obtain funding from the 2021-2022 Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Air Quality Grant to fund a three-pronged approach to raise awareness regarding air quality in Essex
Introduction
In order to encourage behavioural change which will benefit air quality (e.g. increased active travel), Essex County Council (ECC) and Essex Highways recognise that increased local awareness of air quality issues is required, as well as information on how individuals can reduce their exposure to air pollution and the impact their day-to-day activities have on air quality.
Method
ECC and Essex Highways therefore worked in partnership to obtain funding from the 2021/2022 Defra Air Quality Grant to fund a three-pronged approach to improve knowledge and information about air quality in Essex:
- Increasing awareness for Essex schools, young people and their parents / carers, particularly for those schools which fall within Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), regarding the impacts of poor air quality on health and sources of air pollution.
- Identifying and highlighting to the public, locations near selected Essex schools, and more widely across Essex, where elevated pollutant concentrations occur.
- Providing practical guidance on the steps which individuals of all ages – but particularly young people – can take to reduce their exposure to air pollution and emissions.
By implementing several different awareness raising initiatives (A, B and C below) each of which would complement and build upon the other, we are confident that lasting and meaningful behavioural change will be achieved in areas of poor air quality within Essex.
The ‘Abbie Ayre and the Shed of Science’ educational programme
ECC commissioned Performance In Education to perform at a number of schools across Essex. Their play “Abbie Ayre and the Shed of Science” is an engaging and interactive performance highlighting the causes and effects of poor air quality. It also offers pupils practical advice and information on how, by improving air quality, they can make a positive impact on both their local environment and on their health.
Air quality monitoring in and around schools
In conjunction with the above, Essex Highways implemented a bespoke and interactive air quality monitoring project focusing on schools within or near to AQMAs. Working with the schools, they used a combination of diffusion tubes and backpack mounted air quality sensors to understand and map air pollutant concentrations local to each school and along key access routes.
The backpack monitoring was undertaken by children at local schools supported by Essex Highways staff, using the learning from their interactive Abbie Ayre session, to monitor air pollutants in the vicinity of their schools and key routes to them. The data collected was used to highlight the local air pollutant concentrations to which children are exposed and support wider efforts to encourage more sustainable travel across Essex.
The reports produced as part of this project are available in the links below:
An updated air quality website for Essex
The final component of the project is an upgrade of the previous Essex air quality website, which has been delivered by Essex Highways with input from ECC and each of the local authorities within Essex. An updated and improved website will provide Essex residents and businesses with access to up-to-date, relevant, understandable air quality data and advice. For example, air quality monitoring data collected as part of the Local Air Quality Management process is provided on an interactive map, along with the location of AQMAs, so that users can access the data in a more interactive, visual way. ‘Live’ data from air quality monitoring devices is also hosted on the website, with data presented using a graphical ‘air quality index’ so that users can readily understand current levels of air pollution. There are also pages setting out guidance on actions people can take to reduce emissions and their exposure to pollution.
Challenge
The development of the Essex Air website was the most challenging part of this project in multiple ways. On one side it was a very technically challenging piece of work, with elements of it being difficult even for technical experts in the field. For example, the API’s that bring in the live data from the monitors from multiple different sources took much longer to process and bring into the correct format than anticipated.
With regards to scope and programme, given the website was designed to be dynamic and regularly updated, it was difficult to know when the ‘end point’ was reached. This, combined with the number of stakeholders and amount of comments received (some of which were contradictory), meant that addressing feedback became a much longer process than anticipated, resulting in delays to the programme.
Conclusion
The Essex air quality website was, however, eventually launched and has received good feedback since.