As part of the “Clean Air for Ukraine” project, a practical workshop was held on using the Sapphire-32 mobile public air quality monitoring station.
20 participants gathered at the Zaporizhia Regional Youth Center to learn how to use the Sapphire-32 mobile public air quality monitoring station. During 6 hours, under the guidance of an experienced lecturer-instructor Maksym Soroka – an ecologist, scientist, public figure, scientific and technical advisor of the Ukrainian network of public air monitoring “EcoCity” and the Network of support for public research “DOVKOLA”, residents of Zaporozhye and guests from Kharkiv studied existing in In Ukraine, methods and tools for monitoring city air quality are modern and accessible to everyone.
Download M. Soroka’s presentation>> Active involvement of the general public in research activities 2021-07-31-Zaporizhia-Air.pptx (1)
After the training participants understood the principles of public monitoring, practical training began. Soroka told and showed the features of the design and operation of the modern Sapphire-32 mobile station from EcoCity, which was presented to Zaporizhzhia last year as part of the “Clean Air for Ukraine” project.
Having learned how to plan an air quality study in a certain area, depending on the purpose of the study (stationary sources of pollution or mobile), on weather conditions, the participants discussed practical cases of planning monitoring and analysis of the obtained results for the cities of Zaporozhye and Kharkiv.
In the thematic discussion “How can Zaporizhzhia become an eco-city?”, local activists, officials, scientists and caring citizens of Zaporizhzhia discussed the possibilities of improving environmental safety in the city and the personal role of everyone in this. The well-known activist Tetyana Yarmokhina spoke about the results of the rally and participation in working groups and urged everyone to be active personally. Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Protection of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, Iryna Pirogova, spoke about the creation of a city-wide public notification system at the NMU, which takes place with the help of experts from the Clean Air for Ukraine project and the EcoCity network, and where the role of public monitoring is important.
Oleksandr Kostenko, a representative of Ecocoalition, made an overview of the most dangerous pollutants in the air of the city of Zaporizhia.
The head of the public organization “Ekosense” Tetyana Zhavzharova analyzed the possibilities of reducing air pollution from the energy and transport sectors, included in the Green Deal and the Agreement of Mayors, and introduced the concept of PDSERK to those present.
Download T. Zhavzharova’s presentation> Презентація пдсрк.pptx
Workshop participants conducted practical measurements of air quality using the Sapphire-32 station on Festivalnaya Square near the Zaporizhia Regional State Administration. The equipment itself remains in Zaporizhzhia and is available for further work on air quality monitoring and advocacy to solve the problem of environmental pollution in Zaporizhzhia.
And another important result of the event: the innovative EcoCity station with a UV radiation sensor was brought to Zaporizhzhia for the first time and presented to Vlad Demidovets, one of the most active participants.
The event was organized by Zaporizhzhia NGOs “Ekosense”, “Dzyga” and FONI.
The workshop was held as part of the “Clean Air for Ukraine” project, which is implemented by the Czech non-governmental organization Arnika and the Ukrainian network of public air monitoring EcoCity, with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic as part of the Transition Assistance Program and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED, USA ).
