Vegetation drive! We’re delighted to announce that the spring chipping event is being held in partnership with the Okanogan Conservation District and the Town of Twisp on May 12th.

Participants will need to reserve their spot by signing up ahead of time. Each person may bring up to two pickup loads of clean, natural woody debris no larger than 5” in diameter. Please, no lumber, weeds, leaves, or needles.

Previous vegetation drives have averted hundreds of hours of smoke from outdoor burn piles – reserve your spot today!

Wildfire smoke and your health – please take our survey! You may have seen the Clean Air Project out in front of Hank’s and the IGA earlier this month. In collaboration with the University of Washington’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, we are evaluating the best way to get information on the health risks of wildfire smoke to our community, specifically looking at messaging from the Diamond Creek Fire from 2017. This study is planned for publication and your participation is essential!

UPCOMING from the Clean Air Project:

Methow Valley Clean Air Ambassador Program! This is your chance to become a Methow Valley Clean Air Ambassador and participate in an air quality monitoring citizen science project – unprecedented in scale! The Community Foundation of North Central Washington’s Methow Fund has helped us realize this exciting project where we’ll be purchasing 12 Purple Air quality sensors and placing them at various locations and elevations from the upper to lower Methow Valley. Air quality information will be wirelessly uploaded to a Google Maps interface and publicly accessible. A student summer intern from the University of Washington will help get this project launched before wildfire season.

It is envisioned that such real-time mapping of the Methow airshed will enable all kinds of cool things, such as providing the following:

-more relevant and local air quality information for residents to help inform their choices and actions

-opportunities to build awareness of air quality issues in the valley

-learning opportunities for students in the MVSD, the Community School, the Bush school, and Little Star Montessori (all included as sites for monitors)

-a public health and emergency response tool during bad air quality episodes; can be utilized to relocate sensitive individuals to safer air

-safer recreation during bad air quality episodes – help residents and tourists figure out where to go play outside

-opportunities for testing and validating smoke forecasting models used by DNR and the Forest Service for prescribed burns and wildfire smoke intrusions

We are coordinating with the Okanogan River Airshed Partnership’s effort to place several Purple Air monitors in their area and anticipate this will be a truly unique project in understanding rural air quality.

We are seeking additional individuals who are interested in sponsoring a monitor at a pre-designated site (or purchasing and hosting your own at your home or business). The Purple Air monitors cost approximately $225. To host your own, all that is needed is your willingness to take the Ambassador pledge to work with us to ensure robust monitor siting, maintenance, and data quality.

Stay tuned for more information about this exciting project and check out www.purpleair.com/map!