Some Red Deer-area students will be considering ways to improve air quality around their schools in 2023.
A Clean Air Responsible School (CARS) education program will be started at least one school in the Red Deer region that has yet to be selected by Inside Education — Alberta’s longest-running environmental, energy and natural resources education charity.
The charity is partnering with 10 schools around Alberta, including at least one in the Red Deer region, within central Alberta’s Parkland Airshed Management Zone (PAMZ).
Monitoring equipment will be set up at these chosen schools to help measure outdoor air quality. “We expect … to find that at the high-traffic times of day — pick up and drop off of students) — the air quality is the poorest. Schools will be challenged to come up with some action plans to help improve air quality around their schools,” said Steve McIsaac, executive-director of Inside Education.
Telus Friendly Future Foundation provided a $63,000 grant to support the acquisition of these air-quality monitoring tools possible so Inside Education can scale up its CARS environmental education program.
“We will be working with PAMZ to help identify school (or schools) in the Red Deer region early in the New Year,” added McIsaac.
Inside Education has been delivering engaging, hands-on, interactive education programs for Alberta students and teachers for 37 years.