This is the first year for the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency’s Little Steps, Big Impact program.
Sue Cutsforth, MAPA Information Officer, says the program involves classroom lessons and the use of handheld monitors to check air quality.
She says MAPA contacted school districts in the metro area earlier this summer to see if they were interested in the program.
Cutsforth says 5th graders were already learning about air quality so the program was a great fit.
"If we can start with children, informing them about what the situation is, then hopefully we can get the information out there about the steps we can all take in our everyday lives to help improve our air quality ad avoid having the impact on public health that we don’t want to have. But also, the economic consequences that come with not meeting federal air quality standards. And we are at a point where we are close to not meeting those, so we really don’t want to go in that direction.”
Cutsforth says the students will be entering in their data online so everyone can see what kind of readings each group had.
She says MAPA recently received a $3,000 grant from the Nebraska Academy of Sciences to help continue the program into the spring.
More information is available at LittleStepsBigImpact.com.