Uplifting Air Quality Research — RISE Communities

I recently had the pleasure of attending RISE Communities as a representative of PurpleAir. I had never attended the event before, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. But, I was pleasantly surprised to experience a very informative and promising three days of education and engagement. Through several presentations and interactive workshops, I was able to learn about many air quality monitoring projects, both those that have already concluded and, of course, those that this year’s participants are planning. 

But what is RISE, and how does it help facilitate environmental change?

What is RISE?

The RISE Communities program, or Research Innovations using Sensor Technology in Environmental Justice Communities, is a community project training and support program. It’s “designed to provide training and team building for community-academic research teams with an interest in monitoring air quality using sensor technology” (RISE). All this really means is that RISE is designed to identify and uplift organizations and community teams with an interest in air quality monitoring. It seeks to bring those teams together and ensure they have the tools and skills they need to implement or strengthen their projects.

Participating groups consist of at least one member from an academic institution and one member from an environmental justice community organization. During the RISE in-person event, these members “participate in team-building activities designed to align goals and develop communication skills that will increase their trust in each other.” Overall, participating groups “receive instruction in research techniques, technical skills related to sensors, and gain access to team science resources that are specific to community-academic partnerships.”

RISE is meant to bridge gaps that can exist between academics and communities so that they can work together to achieve goals that actually produce tangible benefits for people. 

What is an Environmental Justice (EJ) Community?

RISE is focused on projects in or about environmental justice (EJ) communities. But what does an EJ community entail, and what kind of projects include them?

The EPA defines environmental justice as “the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment.” The purpose of this inclusion is to ensure that people “are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects” and “have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.”

EJ communities, sometimes also called EJ communities of concern, are areas that have been historically disadvantaged because they experience a disproportionate number of environmental hazards and generally face a reduced quality of life. The Historic West End of Charlotte, NC, would be an example of an EJ community because of its proximity to several major highways and other industrial facilities.

While many communities might be threatened by environmental hazards, EJ communities are threatened right now and most likely do not have the resources required to combat these hazards. This is why programs such as RISE are so important; they equip those who care and are willing and ready to institute change with the tools and training they need to succeed.

How Has RISE Benefited Its Participants?

The in-person session for this year has just come to a close, so it's too soon to tell for those participants. However, the first cohort has now had a year to develop and implement their projects. As a result, many projects have been able to progress smoothly. 

Members of the Northern Kentucky Sierra Club, who participated in last year’s RISE session, were able to deploy PurpleAir air quality sensors to “12 locations near River Metals Recycling,” according to LINK nky. The facility, which includes “four automobile shredders, an aluminum shredder, balers, shears, mobile shearing, torch processing,” and “auto crushers,” according to their own website, is an environmental and air quality concern for many in the community. With the air quality sensors deployed, the Sierra Club will be able to collect their own data, which they will submit to the EPA, according to ABC 9 Cincinnati.

What’s Next?

Even in its first year, RISE was successful in supporting and cultivating many air quality monitoring projects. So, where do they go from here? 

The first cohort of RISE participants consisted mainly of parties from the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. This recent second cohort included national groups from other states: California, Michigan, Virginia, and New York. Moving forward, the goal is to engage groups from many more states, as air quality issues exist everywhere, and environmental justice communities of concern can be found anywhere.

If you have further interest in RISE, check out their website here. Or, if you want to take action now, buy a PurpleAir sensor today!