Students at Meridian Ranch Elementary School and Skyview Middle School have finished the first round of data collection for the Engines Off! Colorado program, sponsored by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The goal of the program is to urge drivers to turn off their vehicles if they will be idling for longer than 60 seconds.ìWe knew we wanted to do this project, and we had been trying to get a grant,î said Lisa Silva from the CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division.The pilot program was conducted at the convention center in Denver. Silva said by using informational materials and talking to delivery truck drivers, idling was greatly reduced at the center.Silva said school districts nationwide had success with similar programs, so she contacted Cindy Hardin, Falcon School District 49 transportation director. ìI became aware that the transportation director at D 49 Ö already had the buses reducing their idling,î Silva said. ìI thought that she and the district would be likely candidates for doing Engines Off! Colorado.îAfter gathering baseline data in January, students from Skyview and Meridian Ranch participated in a demonstration day at Skyview in February.During the morning session, Joshua Rickard from the Denver division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed students a toxic vapor analyzer with a flame ionizing detector. Nancy Chick from the Air Pollution Control Division of the CDPHE gave a presentation on the stationary monitoring equipment they use.Nick Clements, a doctoral student from the school of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder, demonstrated a particulate matter sampler; and CU graduate student Berkley Almand demonstrated a small CO2/CO/VOC sampler by holding it up to the tailpipe of an idling car.During lunch, students tested various types of matter such as lotion, juices and potato chips to denote the kind of organic molecules found in those items.In an e-mail to The New Falcon Herald, seventh-grade teacher Lindy Bachman wrote, ìIt was wonderful for the students to speak with scientists who are working on the issue of air pollution that we are experiencing at our school, in our state and our world.î Bachman is in charge of the Engines Off! Colorado program at Skyview.ìThe statistics that the kids are gathering are before and after the outreach they’re doing,î Silva said. ìWhat they’re going to do is compare how many (people) idle currently with how many idle in the future. Then, they’ll compare the ratio and present it to us and the Colorado Department of Transportation.îRJ Berry with the D 49 transportation department helped students distribute pamphlets and speak to drivers of idling cars. ìI gave information to one idling car about the program,î Berry said. ìShe said she didn’t know about the program, but she didn’t turn her car off.îìI haven’t gotten any of the research, but I’ve seen the signs, and I’ve been trying to make an effort to turn my engine off,î said Suzanne Singer, parent.Silva said she would like to make this program a statewide endeavor, but with 148 districts it’s a daunting task. ìWe’re trying to come up with some organized thing to get people out to make this happen,î she said.The students will continue to gather information during March and April. They will compile their findings and submit them to the state.
