Stars and STEM Stories
GLOBE The Netherlands: Students Measure Air Quality—Where Government, Participation, and Education Meet
Air quality is one of the most pressing health challenges in the Netherlands. Despite improvements, air pollution still significantly shortens Dutch life expectancy. To tackle this, more than 100 municipalities and provinces have signed the Schone Lucht Akkoord (Clean Air Agreement | download English brochure), committing to cleaner, healthier air. Yet, one important group often remains hard to reach—young people.
To raise awareness of the importance of clean air, GLOBE Netherlands, in collaboration with the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), joined forces with over 30 municipalities and provinces to give students a hands-on role in local air-quality monitoring. Through the national program Scholieren Meten Luchtkwaliteit (Students Measure Air Quality), students step outside their classrooms to collect real-world data on particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide. In doing so, they become citizen scientists that engage with policy, for instance, by presenting their findings to local government officials and by advising policymakers.
Students of Kandinsky College school in Nijmegen with snifferbike mobile particulate matter sensors.
Air pollution is a silent killer that shortens our life expectancy by an average of 8 months. Particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide play an important role in this. By directly involving young people in measuring air quality, we not only create awareness, but we also hope that the next generation will bring about a change. —Hester Volten, scientist at RIVM.
Starting in 2020 with a small pilot in the province of Utrecht, the project has now grown into a national initiative. By 2024–25 more than 75 schools across 30+ municipalities and provinces actively participated.
In typical Dutch fashion, students measure small airborne particles using “Snifferbike” (Snuffelfiets) sensors—bicycles equipped with SODAQ AIR sensors that continuously record particulate matter concentrations while cycling through their neighborhoods, on the route from home to school, and in areas of interest to local air-quality policy. A simple LED display shows real-time air quality while the full dataset is automatically uploaded to knowyourair.net and Measure Together, RIVM’s citizen science portal.
Concentrations of NO2, 1–28 March 2025 (left) and PM2.5, 27 March 2025 (right).
Students also investigate NO₂ levels using Palmes diffusion tubes—small devices attached to lamp posts or trees for several weeks in locations chosen by students. After analysis in a lab, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) scientist Bas Mijling compares the student-collected data with satellite observations from the TROPOMI satellite instrument.
Satellites give us a wide-angle view from 824 kilometers above Earth. But to really understand concentrations at street level, we need students’ complementary ground measurements. —Bas Mijling, scientist at KNMI
To support the schools, GLOBE The Netherlands provides lesson materials, workshops, guest lessons and teacher trainings. Municipalities and provinces contribute by funding equipment, hosting kick-off events and attending guest lessons and student presentations. At a festive kick-off in the city of Nijmegen in 2024 students cycled with local officials, symbolizing the link between youth data collection and policy action. “This is the perfect way for us as policy makers to connect with young people” said Rijswijk Alderman Mark Wit at one local launch. “Their measurements are a mirror we cannot ignore.”
Students from the Stanislas Beweeg-vmbo/mavo school in Rijswijk posing with Alderman Mark Wit.
Teachers also see the value in connecting science to society. As a teacher from the Castor College school in the town of Beverwijk stated: “Our students were thrilled to discover that their data contributes to real research, they quickly noticed differences between busy roads and quiet neighborhoods. Suddenly air quality became personal.”
In the 2024/2025 school year, Students collected data using more than 700 Sniffer Bikes and over 500 Palmes tubes nationwide. These measurements are now used by RIVM and KNMI to help validate air quality models and satellite data, offering a more refined picture of particulate matter and NO₂ levels across The Netherlands. Municipalities and provinces use student findings in local air quality discussions. Presentations at province houses, such as in Utrecht in attendance of the Regional Minister, have given students a voice in policy debates and helped governments ground their Clean Air Agreement commitments in real, local data.
Slide from a presentation of students of the Het Streek school in the town of Ede to local government officials, showing correlations between PM2.5 levels and wind direction.
By actively measuring, analyzing and presenting, students deepen their understanding of environmental science and health. Student Sterre from the Leidsche Rijn College school in the city of Utrecht reflected: “I investigated the impact of wood burning on particulate matter concentrations. It made me realize how closely our daily choices are connected to the air we all breathe.” Because students share their results with peers, parents and local media, awareness spreads far beyond the classroom.
Through the partnership with local governments, knowledge institutions and schools, GLOBE The Netherlands demonstrates how education and policy can reinforce each other. Provincial Minister of the province of Overijssel Thijs Bree noted during a student presentation: “You are not only helping science – you are helping us as policy makers make better choices.”
Students of the Esdal College school present their findings in the council chamber of the Drenthe Provincial Council.
Looking forward, many municipalities and provinces have committed to long-term partnerships with GLOBE The Netherlands and local schools. Students Measure Air Quality continues to grow, with new municipalities joining the effort. It shows how citizen science can stimulate student engagement with their local environment and with local environmental policy. At the same time, they learn not only how to do science but also what science means: building research skills and science literacy that prepare them to face the societal, health, and climate challenges of the future.
Learn more about GLOBE Netherlands.
Story courtesy of Willie Kerkhof, deputy country coordinator, GLOBE The Netherlands
Photos courtesy of (in order of appearance): Duncan de Fey; www.samenmeten.nl (left), www.knowyourair.net (right); GLOBE Netherlands; Het Streek school, Ede; GLOBE Netherlands