Oxford Tract Community Farm Air Quality Research
Project Sponsor: Engineers for a Sustainable World
TGIF Grant: $1,992
Project Theme: Food Justice and Sustainability
Project Description: The overall goal of the project is to investigate the extent to which urban farms can reduce air pollution in order to promote the implementation of urban farms locally and nationally. In addition, this project will aim to address public health concerns in respect to air pollution and the potential absorption of air pollutants in urban agriculture. As sustainable communities and urban agriculture grow in popularity, the issue of soil and air contamination becomes progressively more important. This issue will be investigated by monitoring and tracking pollution levels at the oxford tract, a plant research station near the UC Berkeley Campus, with hopes to expand to urban farms in Oakland, CA. Comprehensive data analysis as well as real time air quality warnings for local residents will be published.
Project Goals:
- Increase awareness of health implications of existing air quality
- Increase awareness of our project
- Provide transparency about socioeconomic factors that shape the profile of areas with poor air quality
- Direct community members to resources to help them mitigate the health impacts of living with high pollution
- Publicize the impacts of urban farms on the environment and on the community