Community Engagement

Facing wildfire smoke amid COVID-19

When Jake asked me to go on a sunset hike, I knew what was coming. We were in our favorite place: the Methow Valley of Eastern Washington. When we crested the top of the mountain, a few sunrays peeked through the clouds, lighting up the fertile valley below.

Still, when he got down on one knee, I was surprised, and overcome with happiness. Life seemed full of promise.

2020 ATHENA teacher training workshop focuses on vaping

The science on the health impacts of vaping is evolving quickly. At the same time, the number of teens and pre-teens who vape is increasing dramatically. Teachers want the latest information to help educate their students about the risks of vaping. This is where EDGE plays a role by connecting high school teachers and scientists through its long-running Academy for Teaching About Health and Environmental Interactions (ATHENA).

Can trees clean up jet pollution?

 

Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York’s Central Park, once called trees the lungs of the city.

Trees and shrubs filter a variety of air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter.

But could they also benefit communities near airports by absorbing harmful ultrafine particles from aircraft exhaust?

What can I do when the smoke rolls in?

Submitted by lhayward on

The EDGE Community Engagement Core partnered with Clean Air Methow, and Anna Humphreys, a UW Public Health graduate student, to support communities in the Methow Valley during wildfire smoke events. This pamphlet sums up what Methow Valley community members said they felt during wildfire smoke events. It also suggests responses to their needs based on interviews and official information sources. We hope this pamphlet can be tailored to help other communities cope with their own wildfire smoke events.

EDGE Team Investigates COVID-19 Health Disparities

UW EDGE Center researchers have been awarded a COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant from the UW Population Health Initiative. The grant, which was matched by the School of Public Health, will fund research into disparities in COVID-19 testing and health outcomes in King County, with a focus on cumulative impacts in low-income, minority, and health-compromised communities. The research team includes DEOHS Clinical Professor Stephanie Farquhar, Associate Professor Edmund Seto, Ph.D. student Esther Min, and EDGE Center Community Engagement Manager BJ Cummings.

Novel coronavirus videos released in nine languages

Multilingual messages and resources now available from Public Health – Seattle & King County: STAY HOME – STAY HEALTHY.

Thanks to our partners Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition and ECOSS, video messages about the novel coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) are now available from the UW EDGE Center in *nine* languages:

English: Myth Busters- Novel Coronavirus (aka COVID-19)