The Clean Air Day event, organised by Newport City Council, was attended by 30 children from five local schools and featured several organisations helping students learn about the sources and dangers of pollution, and highlighting the importance of clean air.

Nuaire demonstrated its Drimaster-Eco Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) system, which removes condensation and dampness from homes, but the star of the show was undoubtedly the Cyclone game where children had to grab as many ‘pollutant’ balls out of the cyclone within a set time!

The interactive game was not only fun, but had a genuine purpose: it helped illustrate the need to remove pollution from the air we breathe, and provided a time based activity that is good for improving concentration. According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution is not only damaging to children’s lung function, but also affects neurodevelopment, leading to lower cognitive test outcomes, negatively affecting mental and motor development. That’s why this year’s Clean Air Day theme is “Clean up the air to look after your mind”, encouraging people to find out more about how air pollution impacts our mental, physical and planet's health.

Commenting on the event, Steve Manning, senior scientific officer (community & environment) at Newport City Council said: “Clean Air Day is an important date in the air quality working year as it allows promotion of things like the importance of education in equipping our children, who are future agents of change, with an understanding of air quality principles and how to reduce our impact upon local air quality, and also help address climate change.”