Reading Schools Collaborate for Clean Air Day 2024

Cultivating Curiosity and Collaboration for Cleaner Air in Reading

We celebrated Clean Air Day, held on the the 20th of June 2024,  by organising locally a CALM:ER (Clean Air Living Matters Exploring Reading) workshop that over 60 students attended from four secondary schools across the area: Little Heath School, Blessed Hugh Farringdon, The Abbey, and St Joseph’s College. It was also part of the Reading Climate Festival 2024.

You can watch a summary from the day below.

This special day was made possible through the collaboration of Design Nature, Stantec, University of Reading, and Reading Borough Council and through funding awarded from Defra.

Cultivate

During the workshop, working in groups of five or six, the students had the opportunity to explore air quality in a number of different ways:

• Hearing from and questioning the Stantec team, including recent STEM ambassador graduates  and in house air quality experts, including William Storey and Jonny Dodkins, all sharing their valuable insights and real world experiences in the field.
• Learning in the Lab, with Reading University air quality researcher and scientist Marta O’Brien, with interactive experiments exemplifying some of the everyday things that can impact our indoor air quality
• Measuring and mapping outdoor air quality around the University using Atmotube monitors. Taking readings that could then be used to build wider understanding about causes. 

 

We encouraged the students to be curious and explore different ways to improve air quality and achieve cleaner air. They were encouraged to think creatively and outside the box, while also considering the air they breathe every day.

Collaborate 

After generating individual ideas, the students worked together to create a display showcasing all their potential innovative solutions. 

Innovate

Each group then presented their ideas, inspiring others with their suggestions. 

The range of ideas was impressive, including growing our own food, cooking with electricity, planting more trees, buying organic food, using public transport, recycling, increasing solar panel usage, and many more.

All these ideas and actions will be documented and shared back with the schools as an outcome of the day, while also contributing to Reading Borough Councils air quality strategy.

If you’re interested in getting your students involved in the CALM programme then contact us here for more information and to register interest.

Design Nature also designs and delivers a wide range of activities and interactive programmes on different sustainability and climate topics, you can find out more or contact us at hello@designnature.world