Researchers from Cork City Council and University College Cork will hold a free virtual public talk and Q&A on Cork’s air quality on 15th October at 1 p.m., as part of UCC Community Week 2021.
Participants will learn about the local sources and hazards of air pollution, how to track Cork’s air quality in real-time, and the UCC projects that are focused on better understanding and protecting our air quality.
In particular, the talk will showcase a new Cork Air Quality Dashboard, which launched in 2021. This is the result of a partnership between the CRAC Lab, UCC and Cork City Council.
A free 30 minute talk will be followed by a Q&A session with the following panellists:
Speakers:
- Talk by Professor John Wenger, Atmospheric Chemist, UCC;
- Panellist: Dr Stig Hellebust, Atmospheric Chemist, UCC;
- Panellist: Dr Marica Cassarino, Environmental Psychologist, UCC;
- Panellist: Dr Dean Venables, Atmospheric Chemist, UCC;
- Panellist: Dr Kevin Ryan, Executive Scientist, Cork City Council;
- Host: Dr Tamela Maciel, Project Manager for the RADICAL project, UCC Academy.
This event is part of UCC Community Week 2021. During Community Week, staff and students across the university come together with community and public sector partners to host community focussed events and activities. The week-long programme of events celebrates UCC as a civically engaged university.
To register: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/170158898847
Cork City Council Air Quality Strategy 2021-2026
Launched in August 2021, Cork City Council is the first local authority in the country to devise such a strategy and this follows on from the delivery of a high-level air quality monitoring system across the city and the introduction of an ambitious city centre pedestrianisation programme over the past year. Over €2 million has been invested in cycling infrastructure including the addition of over 20km of new and improved cycling lanes and the installation of 4km of bollards to make cycling safer and more attractive. The National Transport Authority has committed €3.5bn as part of the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy to the development of world-class sustainable transport solutions in Cork.
The Air Quality Strategy sets out short, medium, and long-term initiatives to improve air quality in Cork City including proposing:
- A ‘last mile Electric Vehicle Delivery’ service for HGV (heavy goods vehicles) in the city.
- The creation of Low Emission Zones /Clean Air Zones
- The increase of tree cover in the city including the development and enhancing of ecological corridors, the securing of wetland areas, increasing the number of pocket parks and parklets and the expansion of areas to be used to offset carbon levels. Next year, it is expected that up to 1,500 trees will be planted following the planting of 1,200 this year – a sixfold increase on the year previous.
Cork City Council continues to closely work with residents and community groups, ESB, University College Cork, the Environmental Protection Agency, Munster Technological University (MTU) and Healthy Cities, amongst other groups to develop and implement the strategy.
See: https://publications.corkcity.ie/view/162487825/
RADICAL:
This event is coordinated by the RADICAL project, which is led by UCC. RADICAL is an EU-funded research project to develop a novel type of low-cost sensor to detect atmospheric radicals, for better air quality monitoring.
Environmental Research Institute:
This event is supported by the Environmental Research Institute (ERI). ERI is a flagship UCC institute that integrates over 400 researchers from 20 University schools and departments and 6 research centres to work together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable society.
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