Third and Fourth Class took part in a very exciting campaign ran by ‘An Taisce’ in March of this year. As part of the 7th GLOBE Air Quality Campaign, they were tasked with measuring the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or ‘air pollution’ around our school.

An Taisce posted us out three test tubes to attach to three specific areas around our school grounds. The three locations 3rd & 4th class picked were: the front of the school (because it’s close to a main road), the staff car park (because it’s a drop off/pick up location), and the junior back yard (because it’s a relatively sheltered area).

The test tubes had to be left up and untouched for a total of 4 weeks to gain the most accurate results. We had great fun putting up the test tubes and predicting what our results might be! After the 4 weeks, we took down the test tubes, sealed them back up and posted them off to the laboratory to be tested.

In May, we received our long-awaited results! The test tube at the front of the school came in at 4.86 (micrograms per cubic metre), the test tube in the staff car park came in at 5.35, and the test tube in the junior back yard came in at 4.47. According to the World Health Organisation, anything under 10 is considered ‘low’ levels of nitrogen dioxide – which means the air around Mountcharles is certainly as fresh as can be!

If you’re interested in finding out more about the campaign, have a look here: https://analyticsepa.shinyapps.io/GlobeMar22/