Northern California Community Advocates Engage with Air Issues: All About Air Quality Bootcamp

Tim presenting to the Bootcamp attendees.

The second All About Air Quality Bootcamp went off without a hitch in Oakland, California! The Bootcamp was two full days of air quality education for community advocates, with 28 attendees from 12 different Bay Area community groups, advocacy organizations, and community advisory boards, with a few guests from the California Air Resources Board.

The Bootcamp kicked off on a Thursday evening with a welcome dinner, where attendees were able to gather, get to know each other, share stories, and enjoy some food.

With our partners Coalition for Clean Air, we worked through our first full day of training on technical air quality information with sessions on foundational knowledge, local sources and important pollutants, the technology of monitoring, and more. The content of day two covered health impacts, understanding air quality regulation and policy, and environmental justice in air quality spaces. We were fortunate to have a special guest, Dr. John Balmes, Professor of Medicine, UCSF and Professor Emeritus of Environmental Health Sciences, UC Berkeley, who came to speak about the health impacts of air quality.

Bootcamp participants experimenting with bubbles!

Participants were exceptionally engaged, with tons of questions and interests, and had a great time learning about how air moves pollution - by blowing bubbles.

And there’s still more to come! Our next All About Air Quality Bootcamp will be held in the San Joaquin Valley this winter and repeat sessions in the late spring will happen virtually!

Interested in attending or learning more about these future sessions? Get in contact!