For September’s Clean Air Webinar, guests from Inside Education and Ever Active Schools joined us to discuss their education programs aimed to help K-12 students understand more about air quality. Former teacher, Ashley Jones, also joined us to explain more about the curriculum-aligned resources she developed for Alberta Capital Airshed to help students in elementary, junior high and high school to learn more about air quality as part of the provincial science curriculum. Educators, parents and interested members of the public will learn more about these programs and resources, and how to access them for K-12 classroom use.
Presentations
Ever Active Schools
Ever Active Schools’ vision is that all students belong to healthy school communities that enable optimal health and learning, and healthy air is a big part of a healthy school environment. Not surprisingly, transportation is a determining factor when assessing the overall health of school site air quality. Travel mode choice for school trips, driver behaviour during drop-off and pick-up times, and school site design all play their part, especially when layered on top of each other. Fortunately, there is a solution: Active School Travel. Join us to learn more about the tools and resources that we use to improve air quality, road safety, and health and learning outcomes in school communities across Alberta.
Inside Education
This session will provide an overview of Inside Education’s Clean Air Responsible Schools (C.A.R.S.) program which develops understanding of air quality with an emphasis on scientific data collection and personal action in K-12 schools across Alberta. We will share how we have successfully implemented school-based air quality monitoring supported by a hands-on education program to develop clean air stewards. The session will leave participants equipped with tools and ideas to advance their own air quality education programs.
Ashley Jones
Seeing the link between air quality and environmental components in the Alberta provincial curriculum, Alberta Capital Airshed set out to create resources for teachers. These air quality education materials are designed for students in grade 5, 9 and Science 30. Learn more about these air quality education materials, how to access them and incorporate into your lesson planning. We encourage you to share the recording of this webinar with any teachers you think may be interested.
Want to catch recordings of previous Clean Air Webinars?
2023
- January: Air Quality Considerations: Reducing Needless Idling
- April: Connecting Air Quality Across Canada
2022
- February: How the Federal CAAQS Informs Air Quality
- March: Alberta’s Air Monitoring Plan – The Next Five Years
- April: Camrose Project – Community Science, Environmental Studies, and Flow2 Air Quality Sensors
- May: What to do About Wildfire Smoke and Poor Air Quality Days
- June: Exploring the Relationship Between Climate Change & Air Quality
- September: Climate Change & Air Quality Linkages—Implications for Health
- October: Reduced Transportation from COVID—Impacts on Air Quality
Presenter Bios
Tracey Coutts began her School Travel Planning (STP) journey in 2010 in Saskatchewan where she coordinated the national STP pilot for Green Communities Canada, before coming to work for Ever Active Schools. As the Active School Travel (AST) Team Lead, she contributes to the national AST Canada working group, shares impactful AST policies and best practices with school jurisdictions and municipal decision-makers across Alberta, trains and mentors AST facilitators, and supports the collaborative efforts of vested school, community, municipal, and provincial partners and champions to increase opportunities for safe, active travel in their school communities. Tracey’s team’s goal is to build a culture of active transportation across the province, to make it the norm, as the benefits of doing so are too great to ignore.
Kathryn Wagner is the Program Director for Inside Education, an Alberta-based environmental education charity dedicated to supporting teachers, inspiring students and creating a province of informed stewards of the environment and our natural resources. Kathryn has a B.Sc & B.Ed, and 17 years of experience working in environmental education and the social profit sector.
Ashley Jones is a passionate educator and museum nerd who specializes in the development, marketing, and evaluation of programs and initiatives that promote historical and environmental literacy. She is currently the Education Programmer at the Burnaby Village Museum, where she manages the site’s school and public programs.For more information
Salina Fairbank, Engagement Coordinator
Alberta Capital Airshed
sfairbank@capitalairshed.ca