Frome Town Council has been working with Tech Shed Frome to develop a network of air quality sensors around the town. The aim of the project is to empower the community to understand the impacts of the air we breathe and to take action.
Councillor Lizzie Boyle explained ‘We all know that driving around the town causes air pollution. In the UK this causes over 40,000 premature deaths and has a huge impact on health and wellbeing. While Mendip and Defra measure air quality in a few locations and report on this every few months, what is different about this project is that it provides live information. As the project progresses it will show how the levels change on a minute by minute basis. It will also clearly show what impacts air pollution is having and easy actions we can all take to enable everyone to breathe clean air.’
The Town Council has funded an initial six sensors around the town and is working with the Tech Shed to enable neighbourhoods to buy one for their street. Cllr Boyle added ‘The vision is to have air sensors on most streets so we can understand the patterns of travel and work with the community and local businesses to take action. Around 40% of urban trips are less than two miles, this is the perfect distance for walking and cycling and is great for mental and physical health too.’
Danny Hearn from Tech Shed Frome said ‘This is one of the first projects of this kind in the UK, that enables people to understand air quality data quickly and easily. While we’re focussing on particulate matter initially, there is loads of potential to include other impacts including ozone and even river and soil quality. We would love more people to get involved so do drop us a line.’
For more information, to take action, sponsor a sensor or even learn how to build your own visit: www.cleanairfrome.org
Published 7th July 2020
