Air quality in school is a crucial sanitary issue that Coop'AIR wants to address with the co-construction of local solutions by the actors of the environment themselves, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team made up of scientists specialized in fine particles measurements, members of environmental education associations and researchers in information and communication sciences. The approach is based on various means of subject’s appropriation (artistic creation, scientific approach, use of technological or biosourced sensors, dialogue...). It also includes international experience sharing through a dedicated Web platform because as WHO stated "the air quality knows no borders". Empowering pupils to become actors in the evaluation of their environment and in particular of the air they breathe in their classrooms is one of the goals of Coop’AiR. The project aims at investing the school microcosm through transdisciplinarity and participative sciences in order to create a methodology of participative research adaptable to several school contexts on three continents (by taking into account the spatial scale, population density, the socio-cultural aspect...). Coop'AiR arise from the reflection of a solid consortium associating Research and civil society, already sharing several participative research programs on air quality and willing to design this action towards the school environment. Coop'AiR is thought as an experiment of research - implication – action with a vocation to expand after the end of the project to other subjects related to school environment (vegetation, diversity, noise, equality etc ....)

Air pollution has become the major problem of many cities, and it is affecting billions of persons around the globe. Airborne particles are known both to induce health problems and to have a role in climate change. Georesource-related particles account for a significant portion of the total load. Their emission occurs during the mining, recycling or use of georesources. We want to bring together communities working around georesources to propose a new methodology for assessing air quality through a participatory process. The aim of the project is to find a continuum from citizen involvement to the management of emissions. Our goal is to develop a passive sensor, with a low environmental impact, containing biological elements such as bark. This type of sensor offers the possibility for a large number of inhabitants to be active and play an empowering role in monitoring and assessing pollution, as well as being a means of raising awareness of environmental conditions. How citizens can become actors in the evaluation of their environment, and in particular of the air they breathe in connection with activities around georesources? We will set up a methodology to propose our bio-sensors and their implementation. The major stake of this consortium will be to imagine and develop a sensor or a declination of sensors combining the technical performance and the human aspect. At the same time, the design must allow its appropriation by the inhabitants by taking into account cultural diversity and representations of the measurement. Finally, a low environmental impact both in the manufacturing of the sensor and in its recycling is essential to disseminate this type of monitoring without causing additional pollution. To ensure the diversity of points of view and the consideration of the subject in its globality, our Think Tank is based on the synergy of partners involving organized civil societies, designer and researchers in anthropology, sociology, atmospheric sciences, geology, biology, epidemiology and geophysics.