In today’s, increasingly digitized world the route from home to school is sometimes the only chance for children to come into close contact with wildlife. As shown by previous research published in the Environmental Science and Policy journal, not all children have the same chance to enjoy its benefits.
Therefore, in the schools of Lodz environmental research is being carried out – the scientists visit every school and verify what the greenery around it looks like. They take panoramic photos in front of the buildings and in the sports and recreation area.
This will make it possible to determine what children who are coming to school see. Additionally, thermal photos are taken, the level of air pollution at school is measured, air humidity and the value of the leaf area index (LAI) are checked.
- School is a place where children spend a considerable part of their day. At the same time it is obvious that greenery brings a number of benefits to the state of physical and mental health of children. Knowledge on what greenery surrounds children during their stay at school is, thus, of key importance both for the parents and the schools. In a broader perspective, we will also be interested in what the route of children from home to school looks like. Now, however, we want to get to know the school area, which is the end point of this route - explains dr Edyta Łaszkiewicz from the Faculty of Economics and Sociology of the University of Lodz.
The study is implemented as part of a project funded from the National Science centre as part of OPUS20 competition.
This project will make it possible to expand the understanding of urban systems by proposing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach, combining research on the structure of greenery with ecosystem services and the preferences and needs of the residents.
Thanks to the project it will be possible to determine the role of greenery in choosing the route of children from home to school. In particular, it will be examined to what extent the greenery accompanying the route of children to school:
- cleans the air
- improves the microclimate
- protects against noise
- allows contact with wildlife.
Dr Edyta Łaszkiewicz from the Social-Ecological Systems Analysis Lab (Institute of Spatial Economy, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, UL) is the manager of the project. On the side of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences the project is led by dr inż. Daria Sikorska from the Department of Remote Sensing and Environmental Assessment (Institute of Environmental Engineering)
A link to the scientific article HERE.
Source: Dr Edyta Łaszkiewicz (Faculty of Economics and Sociology, UL), Warsaw University of Life Sciences
Edit: Promotion Centre, UL