Our children deserve better than breathing dirty air

With the health effects of air pollution often hitting children the hardest, we wanted to let all our Eco-Schools know about a new, free schools resource pack, from environmental charity Friends of the Earth, and endorsed by the NUT.

The free pack contains three KS2 lesson plans, transforming pupils into budding scientists and campaigners, a fun active assembly plan, free resources and a testing kit to measure your own air quality.

Friends of the Earth want to educate the educate the next generation about air pollution. So do we, and with such an important cause, we wanted to show how it can help you along your Eco-Schools journey and towards your next Green Flag.

• With air pollution being ‘out-of-sight-out-of-mind’ it may not be on your Step 3: Action Plan, but it still has important links to any Eco-School’s work.
• The two free air monitoring tubes allow you to test for harmful nitrogen dioxide gas. Friends of the Earth will process your tubes and get the results back to you – a great additional way to work on Step 4 Monitoring and Evaluating.
• With the resources, pupils have the opportunity to make their voices heard on the issue by learning campaigning tips and tricks, from how to write a persuasive letter to local politicians, to holding a poster competition in the school. Great evidence for Step 5  informing and involving (and useful skills for the future too).
• The assembly plan is a fun, active way to involve your whole school in the campaign. Whilst the posters and stickers could be a great addition to your Eco-board.
• The lesson plans have clear links to the KS2 Curriculum (Step 6), but they can also be adapted for younger students, or used in out-of-school clubs.
• And whilst air pollution has obvious links with the healthy living topic (what could be more important to a healthy lifestyle than the air we breathe), it also links to our transport topic (with car fumes being a significant local contributor).

Order your free pack now from Friends of the Earth, and we look forward to hearing all about your Clean Air campaign in your next Green Flag application.