Mayor visits Mums for Lungs Community Programme sensor
On Friday July 29th, the Mayor of London visited one of ten new community groups to receive a Breathe London community Node.
The visit also launched the second round of the Breathe London community programme which is now open.
Elmhurst Gardens faces the North Circular, a very busy motorway which carries traffic around the edge of London. It is currently just outside the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Lydia hopes to work with Redbridge Council to increase the greenery on the edge of the park to act as a barrier from pollution coming from the motorway. She is also using the data to increase knowledge and awareness of air quality issues in Redbridge more broadly by working with local schools and parents groups.
The Mayor spoke to Lydia about the consultation to expand the ULEZ zone and met environment ambassadors from local schools during the visit.
Lydia Faser-Ward, Breathe London community programme recipient and Mums for Lungs campaigner said:
“We are delighted to have been awarded an air quality sensor by the Mayor of London and Breathe London Community Programme.
Our community in South Woodford in the London Borough of Redbridge are deeply concerned about the levels of air pollution in the neighbourhood, particularly in the playground of our lovely local park Elmhurst Gardens which sits next to the North Circular.
It is thanks to this project that we now have reliable and up-to-date data which members of the public can access online. This data demonstrates when pollution levels are at their highest and acts as important evidence to lobby for mitigation measures to help to protect park users from exposure to dangerously high levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in the future.”
Deadly air pollution contributes to children developing stunted lungs, asthma and a whole host of other health issues and new research has shown that it also puts people at increased risk of developing dementia. We need to act now to protect the most vulnerable from the worst consequences of toxic air and build a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for everyone.