Towards Cleaner Air in Stockton: Part 1 - agricultural burning, urban greening, and indoor air quality

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Image by Warren County Department of Fire and Rescue Services

In Spring 2022, civil and environmental engineering students from UC Berkeley worked with community organizations within the Stockton AB 617 area to identify local air pollution sources and design mitigation strategies. This 4-part blog series highlights the student projects and resources to share with the community. 


This first blog focuses on agricultural burning in San Joaquin Valley, urban greening, and indoor air filtration. Check out these StoryMaps:

 

  • Agricultural Burning: this team created a new map showing locations with agricultural burning detected by satellite compared to burn permit locations; resources to help small farmers apply for funding to reduce air pollution at this website.

  • Trees & Urban Greening: this team researched how trees and vegetative barriers can improve air quality, and how to place vegetative barriers to protect schools in Stockton.

  • Indoor Air Quality: this team studied the benefits of indoor air filtration, and performed preliminary data analysis for the SAPEP indoor air quality study at a school in Stockton.


UC Berkeley engineering students also partnered with students in Stockton to build 250 low-cost air purifiers to distribute to Stockton residents. Read more about the DIY air purifier events here. 


A link to all 12 projects can be found here.