Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts

Healthy Air Network

People constructing their own air filters using box fan, filter, and duct tape

The Healthy Air Network builds community leadership on air quality, climate resilience, environmental justice, and urban forestry in Massachusetts. Our network of over 60 air sensors tracks air quality at a neighborhood level on our Healthyairnetwork.org website. 

 

Our work began in 2021 in Springfield and Holyoke where community concerns about health risks related to air pollution and health inequities in asthma outcomes led to support for measuring air quality at the local level.  Our work in Hampden County is focused on building the capacity of community resident advisors to participate and share leadership in providing real-time data on air pollution and addressing the impacts of climate change. 


Our goals include:

  • Provide live air quality data directly to families across the valley, so that community residents can make informed decisions on how they spend their day 
  • Analyze data to understand what are the sources of air pollution  
  • Advocate for changes to address poor air quality and the health inequities that are related to air pollution 

Coalition Building

Partners

Our initial partners included the City of Springfield, the City of Holyoke, Live Well Springfield, PV Asthma Coalition, ReGreen Springfield, the Earthwatch Institute, and the Yale School of Public Health. The Hitchcock Center for the Environment joined our collaboration in 2022. In 2023, the Massachusetts Asthma Action Partnership convened by Health Resources in Action, received funding to join the network and expand throughout Massachusetts and New England. 


Our Healthy Air Network in Western Massachusetts is led by a group of Community Resident Advisors who provide guidance to ensure that the process, actions, outcomes will be informed by voices of the community members most impacted by poor air quality. 

Group of resident advocates posing for a photo after a health equity training.

Funding

Funding for the network has been provided by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office’s Environmental Protection Division, US Environmental Protection Agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Program, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.  The Healthy Air Network has received NOAA funding through congressionally directed spending.

Impact

Healthy Air Network is regularly contacted by the media, schools, and local leaders for information on air quality, particularly with the impact of extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Recent press includes: 

The Healthy Air Network is hosting a free community workshop.

Free Air Purifier Workshop

June 29, 2024
The Healthy Air Network is hosting a free community workshop where attendees will learn how to build an air purifier and how to navigate times of poor air quality and extreme heat.

Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts Receives Federal Earmark to Expand the Healthy Air Network

April 30, 2024
The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts has received a $370,000 federal earmark to expand the Healthy Air Network, thanks to the leadership of US Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren.
The Hitchcock Center for the Environment has been selected to receive $500,000 from the U.S.

The Hitchcock Center Receives Funding from the EPA; Collaboration with PHIWM and other partners

November 9, 2023
The Hitchcock Center for the Environment has been selected to receive $500,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for expanding and deepening community-based air pollution monitoring, training and education in the Connecticut River Valley region by adding rural communities to the urban partners already engaged in the Healthy Air Network, incorporating extreme heat as a related climate risk, and supporting youth engagement and action.
Show More
Share by: