Resources for Teachers

APCD invites teachers to apply for air pollution education grants. Pictured on right, Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf (center), a member of the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District Board, awarded four grants to teachers at the recent Santa Barbara County Education Office Recognition Dinner. Teachers (from left) include George Flores of Pioneer Valley High School (Santa Maria), Teri Briggs of Goleta Family School, Stephen Ryan of Pioneer, and Rosalind Robertson of San Marcos High School (Santa Barbara). Not pictured: Kristen Lewis of El Camino Middle School in Lompoc.

Grants, awarded through the County Education Office, are to develop curricula incorporating lessons on our atmosphere, air pollution, and global climate change. Apply online here: http://www.sbceo.org/~impact2/ProjectGrants.htm. For more information, contact Mary Byrd at the APCD at 961-8833, or Louise Fisher, Director of Teacher Programs at the SBCEO at 964-4711 ext. 5281.

About the 2007 Grant Projects:

CO2 Science: Is Carbon Dioxide a Harmful Air Pollutant? In this project, George Flores and Stephen Ryan at Pioneer Valley High School in the Santa Maria Joint Unified School District help students learn about air pollution, and lead them in research on carbon dioxide, measuring and recording levels of CO2 at various locations, identifying its impacts, and finding ways to minimize its release.

Safe Lives: Global Climate Change, Air Pollution, and the Human Role In this project, Teri Briggs at Goleta Family School in the Goleta Unified School District teaches students about air pollution and global climate change, and effects on the community and the world. Lessons include attention to disaster preparedness, safety issues, and ways students can decrease their personal contributions to air pollution.

Solar Energy: Air Quality Outreach and Education In this project, Rosalind Robertson at San Marcos High School in the Santa Barbara High School District, teaches students about air pollution and solar energy, and the benefits of renewable energy, with lessons including use of a solar water pump, and interviews of local energy experts.

Global Warming Science Fair In this project, Kristen Lewis of El Camino Middle School in the Lompoc Unified School District leads students in development of science projects that showcase solutions to reduce harmful air pollution, culminating in display of projects at a science fair in 2007.

Check out info on Global Climate Change on this site.

Classroom Presentations

Wheel of Change

APCD offers countywide classroom presentations for K-12th grades and college classes with lessons on our atmosphere, air pollution, global climate change, and what we can do to make a difference.

Presentations can be tailored to the particular focus and level of the class, and can include a game using the Wheel of Change (pictured here with APCD Public Outreach Intern Lexie Brown).

To schedule a presentation, contact Mary Byrd at the APCD at 961-8833. See presentations and teacher resources on this page.

APCD also makes presentations for clubs and afterschool programs, and attends science nights and other school events.

Information on this Site

Teachers Guide offers resources and presentations for use in classrooms, as well as information about the "Learning about Our Air" CD available free to Santa Barbara County educators.

Safe Routes to School discusses efforts to encourage kids to bike or walk to school (or carpool or take the bus).

Air Pollutants & Your Health describes the pollutants of greatest concern in Santa Barbara County, and their health effects.

Daily Air Quality Index provides the AQI for air throughout Santa Barbara County.

Ozone data shows levels of ground-level ozone measured at county monitoring stations, updated hourly on this website.

Toolkit to Reduce Diesel Emissions at Schools provides resources for schools to hear about effects of diesel exhaust pollution, and reduce emissions.

Classroom Activities and Lesson Plans

For presentations, teachers notes, and additional resources see the Teachers Guide page on this website.

Additional resources are listed below.

Air Quality and Air Pollution

Videos (VHS and DVD) are available free in English and Spanish from the California Air Resources Board, click on the title to go to the order page on the state's website: "A Breath of Air: What Pollution is Doing to Our Children," and "With Every Breath: Health Effects of Smog".

Lessons and activities for K-12 from Project A.I.R.E. (Air Information Resources for Educators) are available for download (free) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.

Air Pollution: What's the Solution? activities from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency curricula help students learn about ground-level ozone.

The National Science Teachers Association includes lesson plans and activities to teach air quality concepts for grades 9-12 in a book called Investigating Air has (see NSTA Science Store).

Air Care Air Quality Education Program from Think Earth includes a curriculum for middle school www.EDSpecialists.com.

The California Air Resources Board website's Know Zone page includes information on air pollution, lesson plans, and resources for students: www.arb.ca.gov/knowzone/knowzone.htm.

Alternative transportation

Safe Routes to School Lesson Plans for the Classroom , developed by Marin County teachers, includes plans for multiple grade levels. (For more on the Safe Routes to School program locally, see this page.)

For more information on local programs encouraging alternative transportation, see Traffic Solutions' webpage here: www.trafficsolutions.info.

Additional alternative transportation resources and links are on this page: www.italladdsup.gov/resources/

Car Care for Clean Air

The National Safety Council's Cleaner Cars Module encourages responsible car care habits for future drivers. Fact sheets and other resources are also available on this page of the agency's website: www.nsc.org/ehc/airqual.htm.

Community Events

Community events such as Earth Day offer an opportunity to showcase environmental education projects. Shop teacher Mike Shallenberger (right) was honored with an air pollution education grant from the APCD and the Santa Barbara County Education Office. He and his students at La Cumbre Junior High School in Santa Barbara converted a diesel Mercedes to run on 100% waste vegetable oil from a local restaurant. The students added a second fuel system to the car, with a tank in the trunk for the vegetable oil, a filtering system, and a hot-water circulation system. Said one student: “Before this project, I never knew that a car could run on vegetable oil. I learned a lot about how cars work, too.” The project was showcased at the South Coast Earth Day Festival. For information on countywide Earth Day events, see this page.

Additional Links and Resources for Schools

The CREEC Network (California Regional Environmental Education Community Network) has information about environmental education resources for teachers, including a Resource Directory for Region 8 (Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Kern Counties). See www.creec.org/region8.

US EPA's Office of Environmental Education - Kids' page, teachers' page, regional programs, students' page.

School Health page from California Air Resources Board - environmental health conditions at schools and resources to reduce pollution.

How Your Lungs Work (American Lung Association)

UCI Science Education Programs Science education programs for teachers and students developed by UC Irvine.

Rocky Mountain Institute pages for students and teachers on energy.

Also see the Students and Related Links pages on this website for additional links to air pollution and other environmental resources.

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