Growing Together: Open Forum

Hi all!
The organization I work with, Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center in western Washington state, is working to develop our protocols for managing staff and program participant safety during wildfire smoke/poor air quality events.
I'm wondering if any of you have air quality-related policies & procedures that you might be open to sharing or discussing with me- particular thresholds for when you cancel programs, for example?
Unfortunately for many of us on the west coast, "smoke season" has become a routine issue, so perhaps this can be a thread where folks share resources for everyone to reference!
Shout out to Purple Air (https://www.purpleair.com/), a community-driven air quality tool we use here. We have a sensor on site that provides important hyper-local data, since the government Air Quality Index (AQI) | AirNow.gov readings aren't as granular and our site is in a valley that often has different readings from sensors just up the hill.

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SHEA SCRIBNER
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Hi Shea-

I'm a camp director in Massachusetts, where air quality concerns are becoming more common. Once the AQI is over 100, we spend 15 minutes to the hour indoors, with windows closed. Once AQI is over 125, we spend 45 minutes to the hour indoors, and once it's over 150, we spend the entirety of the day (or until AQI goes down) indoors. If we have any youth with asthma or other breathing issues, I have their adults submit an action plan for AQI before their time at camp, as they may have different thresholds for air quality.

I use American Camping Association as my reference, but what is best looks different for all outdoor educators!

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/air-quality-camp-environment

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Margaret Leahy
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-19-2022 02:02:28 PM
From: SHEA SCRIBNER
Subject: Smoke/Air Quality Policies

Hi all!
The organization I work with, Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center in western Washington state, is working to develop our protocols for managing staff and program participant safety during wildfire smoke/poor air quality events.
I'm wondering if any of you have air quality-related policies & procedures that you might be open to sharing or discussing with me- particular thresholds for when you cancel programs, for example?
Unfortunately for many of us on the west coast, "smoke season" has become a routine issue, so perhaps this can be a thread where folks share resources for everyone to reference!
Shout out to Purple Air (https://www.purpleair.com/), a community-driven air quality tool we use here. We have a sensor on site that provides important hyper-local data, since the government Air Quality Index (AQI) | AirNow.gov readings aren't as granular and our site is in a valley that often has different readings from sensors just up the hill.

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SHEA SCRIBNER
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