Status of participation
13 EPAs of the network originally indicated an interest in voluntarily participating in the CleanAir@School initiative, with 10 subsequently committing to participate (Table 1). Two EPAs, Iceland and Switzerland, are following the project as observers.
All participating EPAs have planned measurement campaigns at schools in one or several cities. Unfortunately, it was not possible to reach an agreement between EPAs’ technical representatives that would have allowed a common measurement period across all participating organisations. For Belgium/Flanders results will be used from the wider regional 2018 “Curious Noses” citizen science initiative.
Details of timing of measurements and the number of school participation are provided in Table 1.
EEA support and communication
EEA plays a coordinating role in the project, bringing partners together to share best practice and agree on a common approach to ensure, as far as possible, comparability of results. A project web portal for participating EPAs has been established, providing technical information and guidance alongside a collation of information on the activities of the individual EPAs, which is regularly updated.
In addition, EEA has provided general communication material on air quality that the EPAs can use within the framework of the CleanAir@School initiative.
Regarding data reporting, EEA will collate and present the measurement results making these publicly available using an online viewer. EEA is also exploring options to compare the data from official air quality measurements stations located close to the schools with the data obtained from the citizen science measurements. This will allow EEA/EPAs to understand the results from the schools in the broader context of air quality in the surrounding area.
In terms of specific EEA outreach activities, the following items are planned during 2019:
i. A web highlight to launch a public-facing CleanAir@School website in May 2019, highlighting the locations and names of the participating schools and EPAs;
ii. A feature on the project in a forthcoming EEA newsletter;
iii. Supporting a presentation on the project outcomes at the EPA network plenary meeting 26-27 September 2019;
iv. The project will be presented at the European Commission’s Clean Air Forum, to be held in Bratislava, Slovenia on 28-29 November 2019;
v. Publication of an EEA briefing showcasing the initiative and lessons learnt (Q4 2019)