Putting faith at the centre of better air quality in Sandwell
To mark Clean Air Day – 17 June – Sandwell Council has announced that 16 faith centres across the borough will be taking part in a two-year project to reduce air pollution and improve air quality through behavioural change.
The 16 centres will receive software, equipment and other resources from Sandwell Council’s Air Quality Team to monitor local air quality, raise awareness and promote changes in residents’ behaviour that could reduce air pollution particulate matter (PM) in the borough.
PM can cause health conditions like asthma, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancers, stroke, sight loss and more.
The Air Quality Team successfully obtained an Air Quality Grant 2020/21 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support the project, and has been working to engage with faith communities in Tipton, Rowley Regis, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Smethwick and Oldbury.
The first eight faith centres taking part in the project are:
● Parish Church of St Francis of Assisi in Friar Park;
● St Matthew Church in Tipton;
● Shree Pashupatinath Mandir (Shani Dham) Hindu Temple in Blackheath;
● the Yemeni Community Association in Sandwell in West Bromwich;
● Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick;
● Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple in Tividale;
● Smethwick Jamia Masjid; and
● the Wesley Centre for All in Wednesbury.
At the start of the project, each centre will be given a questionnaire to assess the level of understanding and perceived importance of air quality among their community.
Each group will then receive a low-cost Zephyr air quality monitor that will be located near to their centre for one year. This will provide data about air pollutant levels in a bespoke dashboard format.
They will also receive a toolkit, containing information about the types of indoor and outdoor air pollution, funding and grant opportunities, information for local businesses, methods of community engagement, ideas for campaigns and more.
Based on information from the dashboards and the toolkits, each centre will be encouraged to use these resources to develop a tailored air quality plan and find ways to improve local air quality that best suit their centre’s needs and those of their community.
At the end of the first 12 months, the faith centres will be asked to produce a report about their intervention methods, and to attend an air quality conference to discuss intervention methods with the other faith centres. They will also receive a second questionnaire to measure any change in understanding and the perceived importance of air quality among their communities.
For the second year of the project, the eight Zephyr air quality monitors will be moved to another eight faith centres across Sandwell to repeat the project. This second wave of the project will also incorporate feedback and advice from the first wave of faith centre participants.
Throughout the project, the faith centres will have access to the council’s Air Pollution Officers and support from Public Health Development Officers.
Dr Lisa McNally, Sandwell Council’s Director of Public Health, said: “Many faith centres in Sandwell already undertake activities to improve their local environment, such as tree planting, organising litter picks and encouraging people to act in a more sustainable way to protect the planet, as we know these are strong beliefs shared by many religions.
“We want to build on this great work by enabling faith centres to monitor air pollution in their local area and to develop their own actions to improve air quality. We will then share this learning across all faith centres in the borough, leading to a cleaner and ultimately healthier environment for our residents.”
Jatinder Singh, President of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, said: “I am delighted that our congregation and the wider community of Sandwell have the opportunity to see real time air quality measurements themselves.
“The data from the monitors will provide a detailed insight into air quality across Sandwell as well, as the associated health effects. We will be working with Sandwell Council in order to improve the quality of life of those living, working or visiting Sandwell.”
