The North Fork Valley Air Monitoring Project: Citizen Science meets Project-Based Learning Using Next-Generation Air Quality Monitors in Colorado

Using low-cost, next-generation air quality monitoring pods, this innovative citizen science project incorporates project-based learning with high school curriculum on air quality, energy development, and methods for gathering... [ view full abstract ]

Using low-cost, next-generation air quality monitoring pods, this innovative citizen science project incorporates project-based learning with high school curriculum on air quality, energy development, and methods for gathering data. The project is a collaboration between the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Western Slope Conservation Center, and Delta County schools, and brings cutting edge tools to a rural area in Colorado that faces potential impacts to air quality as a result of current and future energy development. Rural communities typically lack historical air quality data, tools to monitor air quality, and connections to higher learning and university resources. In the North Fork Valley, CU grad students teach high school students how to deploy and use these monitors to measure NO2, O3, CO2, and total VOC’s. Currently, a database is being developed for air quality data in Colorado, where data collected by citizens will be accessed and stored. In the meantime, North Fork Valley air quality results will be shared with the community through outreach events and a written report. This project provides our group with one of our first opportunities for long-term data collection providing valuable information on monitor performance, sensor reliability, calibration frequency, and the feasibility of providing a community with quality data using next-generation technologies. We present lessons learned about working with high frequency continuous data in the classroom, building partnerships and awareness to support citizen science in rural communities, and working with the energy development industry.