Air pollution has a particularly damaging effect on children. They also live closer to the ground, where the most polluting gases from vehicles accumulate. Pollution from traffic has been linked to problems with brain development, stunted growth, respiratory conditions, cancers and , child deaths worldwide. Children themselves are far from oblivious to all this. The school climate strikes show that young people are forcing air pollution and the climate crisis to the top of the political agenda.
The strikes tell us that children demand a platform to challenge pollution in their environment. Unable to voice their concerns in school, they are forced to take radical action. What if instead there was a way to work with children in tackling air pollution and climate change? Through my research, I look for ways that we can give children the tools, the skills and the confidence to affect change in the cities they live in.
Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK has a population of just over , The culprit? Cars, buses and lorries, all emitting harmful concentrations of polluting gases such as nitrogen dioxide in built-up areas. The children I talked to care about the environment and wanted to see it change for the better β but they have few means to influence that change. First, we took them to streets in their neighbourhood.
With the help of some digital tools, including a basic kit we built ourselves, we collected data about air pollution. In our pilot lessons, we gave them a tool that professionals use called the Fidas Frog , a handheld device that monitors fine dust in the air. Using low-cost sensors connected to a Raspberry Pi computer, they could get a rough air pollution reading at the press of a button.
Could they see or hear what may be causing pollution? We compiled the data they collected and showed it back to them alongside official data. Adults might not expect children to be able to interpret air pollution data, but when we asked them to explain what might be causing peaks in the graphs, they suggested parents in their idling cars, rush-hour traffic and the fumes from local factories. The children proposed many things, including solar-powered cars, separate bridges for people and vehicles, tunnels to keep traffic underground and even electric travelators to replace roads and cars altogether.
