A Labrador has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near ground level.
Bagheera (or “Baggy” for short) wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground.
Since her monitor has found that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, her research has helped highlight concerns that babies and toddlers may be at a higher risk of developing lung problems.
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Conventional air pollution monitors are normally mounted on lampposts at about 9 feet (2.7 meters) in the air. However, since Baggy stands at roughly the same height as a child in a pushchair at just 2.5 feet tall, she frequently records pollution levels which far exceed the standard data.
Baggy is thought to be the first dog in the UK, if not the world, to join the fight against air pollution in this way.
The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy’s 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt.
The English youngster from Chesham, Buckinghamshire realized that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the Environment Agency.
Tom has since reported their shocking findings to the government and the Buckinghamshire County Council in an attempt to emphasize that infants are at higher risk of asthma.
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“I am really proud of Baggy, I think our research is really important,” said Tom, who has been firm friends with his beloved dog since the family got her at just five weeks old. “People need to recognize that it is us young people and kids who are suffering the most from air pollution, and something needs to be done about it urgently.”
Tom’s dad Matt Hunt said he was “very proud” of his son because “when he gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it.”
“The whole purpose of this is that Tom really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma,” Matt continued. “The national data is skewed. The pollution monitors are ordinarily hung upside down from lampposts, a lot higher up, to avoid vandalism. But this gives a completely different, flawed result.
“We have about 40 to 45 hours of data now, which has shown that pollution levels are about two-thirds higher closer to the ground.”
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Matt, who owns alternative energy firm Bio Global Industries, said his son has had a passion for the environment since he was very young.
“He became aware of environmental studies at a very early age, about 7 or 8 years old,” Matt said. “He built up a passion for it, and he became very interested in gadgets, so he started to do some research to see if he could monitor pollution levels for himself.
“About 14 months ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and I said, why don’t we take Baggy with us?
“We put a pollution monitor around her collar, and let her monitor the pollution levels lower down,” he concluded.
The family has now contacted government department DEFRA (Department For Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs) with their data—and they say it is up to DEFRA to act on it.
Additionally, Tom and Baggy’s research contributes to the Plume app, which uses mobile phone location settings to let people know how air pollution is affecting their area.
Matt said there are a few key things that can be done to help guard youngsters against suffering asthma attacks.
“The main thing is to keep them above exhaust level. Get them a higher pushchair [stroller], like the old-style ones, to keep them higher up from the ground.”
As for one-year-old Baggy, she is apparently happy to enjoy her regular dog days whenever she’s not helping the environment.
Tom said: “Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog—she doesn’t like the Hoover and she loves to pull the stuffing out of her teddies. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her.”
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