Know Your AQ: Engaging Action and Awareness About Air Quality Issues in Colorado's Front Range

CIRES Education Outreach – University of Colorado at Boulder, Susan Sullivan (PI 1), Jennifer Taylor1, Allison Rockwell (2), Julia Lee-Taylor (2), Lisa Gardiner (3)

Abstract
Air quality scientists have data that shows every summer along Colorado’s Front Range ground-level ozone air pollution periodically spikes to unhealthy levels, despite laws and efforts to control the lung-damaging chemical. Ultimately, the goal is to develop scientific understanding that will inform decisions on air quality issues. To help achieve this, how can the scientists’ essential research be effectively communicated to the public to inform them about the causes and effects of air pollution and more importantly to develop new means to improve the region’s air quality? During July and August 2014, nearly 200 scientists from the joint NASA DISCOVER-AQ and NCAR FRAPPÉ air quality campaign converged in the Front Range to help answer this important question by monitoring the region’s air with coordinated aircraft flights and ground-based tower-, vehicle-, and balloon- instrumentation. As the education outreach arm of the DISCOVER-AQ mission, CIRES Education Outreach bridged the scientific and local communities by articulating an educated awareness of the scientific research being conducted and offering authentic opportunities to engage people in the campaign process. In cooperation with campaign partners, CIRES EO created and implemented a unique and integrated series of public air quality activities and events with broader impacts: • Citizen-science air monitoring hikes in Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks and Rocky Mountain National Park enabling a wide-range of people to learn about air monitoring techniques and related air quality & health issues (19 hikes including 6 public outreach hikes, 26 project partners including 4 NCAR REU & SOARS interns, and 42 public participants) • Educator workshop offering two days of professional development and classroom resources to increase teachers’ understanding of Front Range air quality issues via interactive sessions and site visits led by campaign partners (22 educators, 26 campaign presenters) • Developing the “Know Your AQ” curriculum in partnership with campaign scientists and their data, plus contributions to UCAR’s Air Quality Teaching Box and collaboration with AirWaterGas SRN (12 project partners) • Supporting campaign public events at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science Free Day and the NCAR Research Aviation Facility by providing air quality information and a hands-on demonstration of air properties (connected with over 2100 people)