Building Capacity to Measure Air Pollution Mitigation Strategies at Schools

EPA Region 9, California Air Resources Board, CalFire, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Oakland Unified School District, Urban ReLeaf, and Higher Ground of Oakland

The EPA and local partners will expand efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of vegetation and noise barriers near Brookfield Elementary School in Oakland, California. 

Research indicates that people spending time near busy roads face elevated risks for certain health problems. Noise and vegetation barriers may help reduce this risk by lowering concentrations of air pollutants. This project will expand efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of vegetation and noise barriers near Brookfield Elementary School in Oakland, California. The school will be able to acquire low cost sensors to monitor air pollution over time as the vegetation matures, and community members, teachers and students will collect and analyze the data. Guidance and educational materials from the project will be useful to other communities as they implement strategies for reducing near-road air pollution exposures at schools.

Project leads: Ken Davidson (Davidson.ken@Epa.gov) and Richard Baldauf (Baldauf.richard@epa.gov)