Work has begun to
install a pioneering barrier of plants and shrubs, designed using the research
of a Department of Landscape Architecture PhD student, around the playground of
Hunter’s Bar Infant School.
The barrier will
filter air pollution from passing traffic and improve air quality for the
school’s 270 pupils.
Top Sheffield
businesses – including Henry Boot Construction, Arup
and Urban Wilderness – have
joined forces to support the installation of the barrier, which has been
designed using data collected from the Breathe project; researching inner-city
school air quality and the impact of living green barriers in playgrounds.
The four-year-long
study, which is funded by the Grantham
Centre for Sustainable Futures, is being conducted by PhD candidate María
del Carmen Redondo Bermúdez.
Maria has taken
daily measurements of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM10 and
PM2.5) from Hunter’s Bar Infant school playground and will be comparing the
levels before and after the green barrier has been constructed.
Landscape Architects
from Urban Wilderness are working closely with Maria to incorporate early
research findings into the plant selection and planting design.
On 31 July, Henry
Boot Construction and their subcontractors RB Alfree broke ground at Hunter’s
Bar Infant School playground, delivering the pre-planting ground-works needed
for the air pollution barrier.
The #GoGoGreen
campaign was launched in March this year, by Hunter’s Bar Infant School and the
Department of Landscape Architecture to raise awareness, funds and support for
the 60m long barrier.
In April 2019,
leading Sheffield Business Together (SBT) members, Arup and Henry Boot, offered
their expertise and resources to support the #GoGoGreen initiative. SBT is a
collaboration of Sheffield businesses that strategically connect and share
resources with charities in order to address key city challenges.
Andrew McDowell,
Associate Director at Arup and Vice Chair of Sheffield Business Together said:
“GoGoGreen is an ideal project for SBT. Our vision is to bring businesses
together to collaborate on projects that address the broader city challenges,
that no one business could deliver on its own. The ‘environment’ is a key theme
for SBT and air quality is a particular issue for Sheffield. We are excited to
be part of this groundbreaking project and research that could eventually
benefit so many children across the city.”
Since April,
engineering consultancy Arup has joined with Urban Wilderness to produce
structural elements of the landscape drawings and Henry Boot Construction
volunteered as the principal contractor; bringing with them subcontractors RB
Allfree and survey specialists Sub Scan.
Gary Holmes,
Contracts Manager, Henry Boot Construction Limited said: “As a local
contractor, we are delighted to support the school in delivering the #GoGoGreen
project. The innovative scheme will lead to improved air quality for children
for years to come and we are grateful to subcontractors Sub Scan and RB Allfree
for providing their assistance with the groundworks.”
The project has also
received in-kind services, kit and consultation from Urban Flows Observatory,
Amey, Enzygo, Ecothrive and Ramm Sanderson, and many more businesses have
donated money for plants and materials.
In October this
year, the school community, The University of Sheffield and Sheffield
businesses will join together to plant the living green barrier in the newly
prepared playground.
By raising awareness
of air quality challenges faced by inner city schools and partnering with
Sheffield Business Together, there is an ambition to create a barrier
blueprint, which will support other schools to install similar living screens.
Businesses have
supported the school as part of their corporate social responsibility agenda in
the following ways:
• Henry Boot
Construction - principal contractors for groundworks
• Urban Wilderness -
Green barrier designs; including hard landscape and planting proposals
• RB Alfree - sub
contractors for groundworks
• Arup - structural
drawings
• Subscan - ground
surveys
• Urban Flows
Observatory - the loan of specialist air quality measurement equipment
• Ramm Sanderson -
excavation around trees consultations
• Ecothrive - soil
consultation and procurement
• Amey - waste
removal
• Enzygo -
consultation - reimagining the playground post planting
Many more businesses
have gifted money and sponsored ivy fences, and their support will be
celebrated during the #GoGoGreen planting parties in October 2019.
