Environment

5-in-1 pro Weather Station

Weather stations are used to measure outdoor weather-related variables. The Pro 5-in-1 Weather Station measures five different outdoor conditions including the temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall. The station has a monitor that displays the weather parameters in real-time, an application that displays the readings, and an online network for communities to access the weather measurements on the web from anywhere.

Water Quality

Water quality test are being done using La motte kits. In this particular experiment, we measure pH, temperature of water, dissolved oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Nitrate, Phosphate, Ammonia, Heavy Metal, and Coliform. Comparison of the data with standard values will help us to analyze the quality of the water. Currently, the water sample is taken from three different spots of Danda River. 1. Shantinagar 2. Ward-3 near PNC and 3. Paklihawa. The eco-club members are the students of different public and private schools and they are actively involved in the data collection process for water sampling.

Air quality

We measure indoor air quality by a sensor known as Laser Eggs. They monitor air quality based on a measurement called the Air Quality Index (AQI). This is an automated device which converts the concentration of dust particles in to the digital reading that is displayed in the screen. It measures the air quality in particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5). The Laser Egg was selected for this citizen science project because of its affordability, user-friendly interface, and real-time data display on the Laser Egg sensor, as well as a built-in application that can be accessed easily through a download on a smart device.

For outdoor air quality purple air air monitors are used. Purple air sensors are automated laser particle counters that enumerate particles causing air pollution. It counts the particles between 0.3µm to10 µm in diameter presents in air which help us to find the level of pollution in the respective locality. As a part of DEMP initiative, we are using the outdoor purple air monitor to find out the level of pollution in urban cities like Bhairahawa and Butwal. The data are automatically uploaded in the purple air site which could be downloaded for further scientific study and analysis.

Levelogger pressure transducer

Levelogger Pressure transducers are designed to measure the level and temperature of water for various water resource management applications (Solinst, n.d.). These can include: long term groundwater monitoring of river, lake, and stream gauging; aquifer testing; wetlands and storm water runoff monitoring; and agricultural stormwater runoff monitoring (Solinst, n.d.). A Solinst Levelogger Edge water level and temperature logger was used to initiate the process of measuring river dynamics (river stage) of the Danda River. This has also been preferred because of its relative affordability, durability, long-lasting battery life, large data point memory, and potential Bluetooth and smart phone application capabilities.

Geo-tech underground water monitor

Geo tech ET is a user-friendly underground water monitor that can be used to measure the depth of water from the surface. This is an important initiative because with rapid urbanization the level of underground water is fluctuating. The period of monitoring and mitigation of the causes of the water level fluctuation is significant in those areas where people depend on underground water for domestic and agricultural uses. Monitoring of underground water level helps to make water user aware of possible consequences due to the drying of underground water, action to be taken to maintain the reservoir and formulate the policies to regarding wise use of this resource.