Take a deep breath because Toronto Environmental Alliance and Environment Hamilton have launched the INHALE Project to improve air quality in Toronto and Hamilton!
This innovative project empowers people to monitor their local air quality at the ‘street level’. Using mobile air particulate monitoring equipment attached to backpacks, bike handlebars or baby stroller handles, Community Air Tracker volunteers will walk, run, or ride through their neighbourhoods collecting air particulate pollution data.
This data is then uploaded to an on-line map of their community, helping to build an on-line air quality data base we have labelled the Fresh Air Finder. This tool will allow online users to identify both good and poor air quality areas in their neighbourhood. Identifying neighbourhood 'hot spots' for air particulate pollution is an important first step in sparking community dialogue around neighbourhood-level solutions designed to improve air quality and ultimately, quality of life.
Thanks to the generous support of The Metcalf Foundation, our INHALE project is the first of its kind in Canada and will be pilot tested in 2 Toronto communities and 2 Hamilton communities over two years (2014-2016).
We are actively recruiting Community Air Tracker volunteers to join the INHALE Project in both cities. Please join us!