The District launched the program in Spring of 2019 to bring undergraduate college students from around the county to local classrooms, where they will teach K-3 students about air pollution and environmental protection. The program is free to all public schools and is modeled after the successful program started by San Luis Obispo County APCD and Cal Poly students. 

Clean Air Ambassadors are trained to present an innovative, interactive curriculum that meets California’s Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The lessons explore concepts such as pollution and sustainability, and promote environmental literacy. Students will conduct experiments to learn about ways they can help improve air quality.

Our Kindergarten – 3rd Grade Lessons

Lesson 1: Resources and Our Environment

Using Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax,” our Ambassadors will demonstrate how air pollution can affect people and the environment. Our Ambassadors will read the Lorax while incorporating props, questions, and fun activities throughout the reading. Students will have an understanding of what can dirty up the air and what they can do to help keep our air clean. Our Ambassadors will provide students with a prepared milkweed seed that has been rolled into a mustache seed ball to help students get started on their efforts!

Lesson 2: Filters and Our Health

With the assistance of Ms. Frizzle and her Magic School Bus, our Ambassadors will demonstrate how air pollution can negatively affect people’s health and how children are more sensitive to air pollution than adults are. The students will engage an experiment to understand how filters work and play games to learn more about the air we breathe.

Lesson 3: Sensors and Our Air

While reading the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s short story “Why is Coco Orange?” students will learn about the Air Quality Index scale and ways they can protect themselves from air pollution. Ambassadors will play an air quality matching game with students to teach them about air sensors and how they measure what’s in our air.