Air Apparent

SEK get in pole positions

atest press release from the SEK gang up on Windgates Hill as they join 150 schools around the country in the 7th GLOBE Ireland Air Quality campaign.

SEK Dublin International School students were delighted to play their part in the 7th GLOBE Ireland Air Quality campaign as they put in place their nitrogen dioxide monitoring tubes on the school grounds.

Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) air monitoring project is sponsored by NASA, relaunched in Ireland in September 2017 and is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland (EPA)

Aims:

To raise awareness around air pollution
To encourage student participation in STEAM and the Scientific Process
To gather important air quality measurements that supports official air quality monitoring performed by the EPA and feeds into both national and international datasets.
The campaign has its focus on citizen science- real, meaningful, useful scientific process.

This school-based traffic-related air pollution study will be measuring NO2 outside at school. The monitoring tubes were mounted today to measure the amount of NO2 around our school between 3-31 March 2022.

Three sampling tubes were erected in different locations on campus to collect nitrogen oxides over the month. The sensitive data collected will then be secured and sent back to GLOBE Ireland. The data will be made available in April for students to analyse and evaluate to develop their skills and understanding. The project teaches a range of skills development, not only science but global citizenship, awareness and communication, critical thinking and caring. Links can be made to sustainable development goals too. In the dynamic world we face- such initiatives are needed for promotion of paradigm shifts from thinking of self and localised context to the impacts we are having on our planet.

SEK Dublin International school diploma class are participating in this campaign, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of science and importance of citizen science initiatives such as these. The class are linking this campaign to their syllabus as they are learning about gas exchange and will analyse how air quality effects breathing and related health.

You can find out more about The GLOBE Program here and about SEK Dublin International School right here.