This is our air quality programme's story

The members initially meet through STFC's Air quality network collaboration event. The aim was to experiment with existing and potentially new air quality low cost sensor network. With the aim to get more out of the data i.e. 'making sensor sense'. We knew that it was possible to make more out of the existing data coming from AQ sensors. We knew there was large effort and difficulty to install these sensors so that we should try to make more of the data from them. STFC DAFNI facility has through a collaboration with Urban observatory stored a large amount of existing data from low cost sensors. The benefit to DAFNI would be to add attributes and quality control evaluations the existing datasets. AirNode's software has the capabilities to add these extra attributes, evaluate quality control metrics for the dataset and to predict the next days AQ measurements. With this extra analysis the AQ measurements can be used for other useful evaluations. Having a large database of existing AQ measurements and extra analysis there is the potential to create citizen science initiative that show the impact of air quality exposures and variance depending on specific impacting factors.
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The environment sciences are the second least diverse industry in the UK. Giving pupils the opportunity to try environmental sciences seems a positive method to inspire under represented groups to choose further studies. The programme involves a targeting of school with under represented groups and allow them to analyse air quality around their school. With the exist AQ measurement and extra analysis we knew we had something interesting give to pupil to try. So we designed a dashboard which was easy to use with a pathway of analysis levels from primary to secondary to university level analysis. We allowed the school to use the dashboards for lessons, experiments and disseminating results to parents or others. We also designed a programme were school could choose to install AQ sensors in the school to gain their own AQ measurements.
Initially we began with an installation in Nottingham which has a 34.7% ethnic minority population. Our aim is take this to many schools in the UK and beyond.
Please contact us to join or find out more.