Paul Villeneuve, a Carleton health sciences professor, and four graduate students, have researched the benefits of urban green space, notably the Central Experimental Farm.
The project, which received $12,000 in funding from Carleton, involved measuring environmental data at the farm for two weeks in the fall of 2016, and in the winter and summer of 2017 respectively.
“The project was motivated by an interest in looking at what sort of benefits the experimental farm might have in terms of some of these environmental exposures like air pollution [and] temperature,” Villeneuve said.
The results concluded that the farm helps reduce temperatures and results in better air quality and less noise close to the farm itself, according to Villeneuve.
He said student researchers drove cars within two kilometres of the farm, using mobile monitors to measure air pollution and temperature. Villeneuve said students also set up passive samplers at 41 different locations around the farm, measuring nitrogen dioxide—traffic-related air pollution—and noise.
“One of the key things we wanted to produce were all these different maps so we could describe how these exposures varied on a very fine spatial scale [of a few metres],” Villeneuve said.
He said the project was appealing because there hasn’t been a lot of measurements done on the farm. According to Villeneuve, the research provides a basis of information on the farm for future studies.
“One of the key things is that if there is changes to the development of the Experimental Farm, now because we have all these exposures in place and these maps in place, if things substantially change . . . we’ll be in a position to measure again,” he said.
Keith Van Ryswyk, a former Carleton health sciences graduate student who worked on the project, called the experience “enriching” and the research “significant.”
“Understanding where the potential lies in the ability of green space to cool our cities, I think is very important,” he said.
Van Ryswyk said higher temperatures in the future could lead to negative health effects.
“If we can build an evidence base that can inform policies on green space and urban design to counteract those [increased urban temperatures and associated] health effects, that would be fantastic,” he said.
Both Villeneuve and Van Ryswyk said the amount of interest people took in the research stood out for them.
“For me, that was something that really struck me, is that there’s a tremendous interest in knowing the benefits of the farm by a number of different people in the city,” Villeneuve said.
He said this included Ottawa Public Health, politicians, biking groups, and nearby residents. Health Canada provided mobile and stationary monitors to the team.
Villeneuve said he also plans to map out traffic-related air pollution on bike paths in the future.
“This is just the beginning,” he said. “We still have to tie this into specific health outcomes of people who live near the farm and maybe do some more follow up studies.”
Van Ryswyk said the goal is to publish two research papers next summer in peer-reviewed journals. He said he hopes the research is expanded upon, including examining different types of green space.
“I hope that our study can inform more research, replication, and the refinement of results in other locations,” he said.
Photo by Anthony Walsh
