Environmental measures to improve children's health - Health and ...

Air Quality3Country: BelgiumProject: Educational project for primary schoolOrganisation: The Flemish Institute for HealthPromotion and Disease Prevention, the Flemish Agencyfor Care and Health, and Flemish Local Health NetworksRepresentative: Sara ReekmansEmail: sreekmans@limburg.beschools helped in the pilot testing of the project guide andeducational materials. Once refined, these materials weremade widely available.Children in a Belgian kindergarten watch the indoorair quality indicator.Keeping "refreshingly cool"in the classroomFor several years, environmental health workers from theFlemish Local Health Networks had been receiving questionsfrom teachers about how to improve air quality in theclassroom. Meanwhile, evidence was emerging thatventilation in schools was often poor. The Flemish Institutefor Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and theFlemish Agency for Care and Health decided that it wastime to act. Together with the Flemish Local HealthNetworks, they initiated a project called Lekker Fris, or"refreshingly cool" (www.lekkerfris.be).The first step was to distribute a poster and a flyer about theproject to every primary school in Flanders, the Flemishspeaking part of Belgium. It provided five simple steps toimproving indoor air quality. After a collaborative process todevelop the project and its materials, teachers in 15 primarySince January 2008, schools have been able to join the project.Teachers receive materials for 3-4 lessons, includingcrosswords, a song, drawings, a game, and a play, which theysay are fun and easy to use. The school borrows a hand-heldCO 2 indicator, which children can understand and learn to usethemselves. When the air is bad and urgent action is needed,a red light shows; a yellow light indicates poor air qualityin the classroom, and a green light indicates that all is well.The project organisers found that once a few schools hadstarted activities, media coverage in newspapers and onchildren‘s television attracted other schools to join.Evidence that the project is a success comes from severalsources. First, a recent evaluation by the Flanders governmentincluded a small number of primary schools that are takingpart in the project. The government report findings suggestedthat indoor air quality in these schools had improved.At the same time, the teachers have rated the project highly.They say that the children benefit from learning about theimportance of ventilation as well as from fresher air in theclassroom.Following requests from secondary schools, the FlemishInstitute, the Flemish Agency for Care and Health andthe Local Health Networks are now working on a similarinitiative for older children.8 CEHAPE Awards, March 2010