Sensors for Change – The Glen Eira Air Quality Network

Utilizing donated PurpleAir sensors, Arabella Daniel is garnering support for clean air in her community and pushing for real change. After receiving sensors through our Collective program, Arabella developed a project proposal and applied to the Glen Eira Sustainability Champions program. Through the program, participants connect with like-minded community members, develop knowledge and skills in relevant environmental areas, and get to “be part of a growing movement of local people taking climate and sustainability action in Glen Eira.” 

After being accepted into and participating in the program, Arabella has received training and connected with key networks that have allowed her to “more effectively design and implement” her project. Perhaps more importantly, the program allowed Arabella to connect with an organization that is very likely to support her application for a community grant to purchase additional PurpleAir sensors. Armed with these tools, Arabella is now preparing to initiate her project.

Scope of the Project 

Arabella’s project aims to proliferate the number of air quality sensors in the Glen Eira community so that its residents know what’s happening with their air. There are currently no EPA monitors in the municipality, and the only working PurpleAir monitor is the one she has now owned for 4 years. Using the donated sensors as a starting point and an example, Arabella hopes to progress smoothly toward her project's objectives. 

Project Objectives 

Arabella posits that her project will spread awareness about the dangers of fine particulate matter and the things that produce it. Particularly, Arabella notes that “the largest human source of hazardous fine particle pollution in metro Melbourne/Glen Eira is domestic solid fuel combustion, i.e., wood heaters.” Going further, “other outdoor wood/charcoal devices such as fire pits, pizza ovens, food smokers, wood/charcoal BBQs, etc., are not quantified.”

This level of PM generation can have significant adverse effects on human health. As highlighted in the project proposal, PM has been linked to a number of health issues and “may be damaging every organ in the body” (The Guardian). 

However, as Arabella says, these types of emission sources are “entirely avoidable… via electrification,” “which also has climate benefits.” So, how does she plan to make that happen? 

How Does The Project Achieve Those Goals? 

By informing residents who might be using these devices of their dangers, Arabella asserts that they will recognize the risk and take action to reduce their PM contributions. More generally, she propounds that “awareness… will inspire action for change.” Key to the spread of air quality awareness is the use of PurpleAir monitors.

Action 

For Arabella’s project to be successful, she must garner the support of her community. As mentioned above, key to this support is the use of PurpleAir sensors. Now, Arabella already has her own sensor that she has been using in her online air quality community. As a result, other community members have started to become more aware of their air quality and its dangers. 

Stage 1 

To stoke the spread of this awareness, Arabella plans to distribute air quality sensors to “participating primary and secondary schools in Glen Eira.” Arabella believes that this distribution will raise awareness and “inspire a change of behavior, i.e., the replacement of wood heaters with clean electric alternatives.” After letting the distributed sensors do their job, Arabella will move to stage 2. 

Stage 2 

Now that the credibility of PurpleAir sensors and the project has been “established with the school citizen science project,” Arabella will move into promoting “the project to the wider community to host their own PurpleAir monitors.” Hopefully, the community will take to it and effectively grow the size and coverage of the Glen Eira air quality network. In parallel, she will seek a community grant to supplement community uptake if the project succeeds. The residents of Glen Eira will actively “increase the density of PurpleAir local air monitoring by hosting a monitor on their private property,” “have increased their awareness of local air quality”, and “understand the importance of hyper-local real-time monitoring.”