Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution. To tackle this issue and implement effective strategies to reduce child exposure, it is important to understand how children are exposed to this risk. This study followed a citizen science approach to air pollution monitoring, aiming to characterise school children's exposure to air pollution and to analyse how a citizen science approach to data collection could contribute to and enhance the research process.

258 children across five London primary schools attended air pollution education sessions and measured air pollution for a week using backpacks with built-in air quality sensors. Children received a summary of the results, advice and information on how to reduce exposure to air pollution. Data on the impact of the approach on the school community were collected using surveys and focus groups with children and their parents and interviews with the teachers involved.

The unique data set obtained permitted us to map different routes and modes of transport used by the children and quantify different exposure levels. We identified that, on average, children were exposed to higher levels of air pollution when travelling to and from school, particularly during the morning journey where air pollution levels were on average 52% higher than exposures at school. Children who walked to and from school through busy main roads were exposed to 33% higher levels of air pollution than those who travelled through back streets. The findings from this study showed that using a citizen science approach to data collection, where children are actively involved in the research process, not only facilitated the gathering of a large data set by encouraging participation and stimulating adherence with the study protocol, but also increased children's awareness of air pollution, encouraging them to adopt positive behaviour changes to reduce their exposure.

儿童特别容易受到空气污染的有害影响。为了解决这个问题并实施有效的策略来减少儿童接触，了解儿童如何接触这种风险非常重要。本研究采用公民科学方法进行空气污染监测，旨在描述学童暴露于空气污染的情况，并分析公民科学数据收集方法如何有助于和加强研究过程。

伦敦五所小学的 258 名儿童参加了空气污染教育课程，并使用内置空气质量传感器的背包测量了一周的空气污染。孩子们收到了关于如何减少接触空气污染的结果、建议和信息的总结。有关该方法对学校社区的影响的数据是通过对儿童及其父母的调查和焦点小组以及与相关教师的访谈收集的。

获得的独特数据集使我们能够绘制儿童使用的不同路线和交通方式，并量化不同的暴露水平。我们发现，平均而言，儿童在上下学途中暴露在较高水平的空气污染中，尤其是在早上的旅途中，空气污染水平平均比在学校的暴露水平高 52%。通过繁忙的主干道步行上学和放学的儿童所面临的空气污染水平比通过后街旅行的儿童高 33%。这项研究的结果表明，使用公民科学方法进行数据收集，儿童积极参与研究过程，不仅通过鼓励参与和刺激对研究方案的遵守促进了大型数据集的收集，