Free activity book on visual pollution is now available

By Erica Walker MSc, ScD

JA Guest Writer

Since last summer, the Community Noise Lab at the Brown University School of Public Health has been cataloging illegal dumping sites across Mississippi, specifically focusing on our state’s capital of Jackson. To date, we have identified over 40 sites in Jackson alone. In addition to measuring the size of each site and detailing the composition of trash, we also take a variety of environmental measures including real time air quality for particulate matter and noise, as well as measuring soil quality for heavy metals and volatile organic compounds. All of our collected data is processed in our laboratory and office space in Jackson. You can track each illegal dump site on our website: communitynoiselab.org.

We have also tackled other environmental issues in Jackson. Specifically, since 2022, we have offered free tap water testing for local residents. All of the tap water testing results can also be visualized on our website. So why did we pivot to also tackling illegal dumping? Overall, as an environmental-focused research laboratory, it is our desire to be responsive to community needs. In a recent poll conducted by us, we found that the top three issues in Jackson were water quality, illegal dumping, and children’s health. As such, we have adopted these stated issues as our research priorities. 

We also believe in data accessibility and have created real-time data platforms to inform you all on what we have found. It is our hope that residents will utilize these tools to better understand the environmental risks in their community and advocate for positive change. Because our data is updated in real-time, you also have the capacity to see if your concerns have been addressed by local elected officials. 

In addition to our data platforms, we also believe in developing tools to promote better environmental health literacy. As the saying goes, when we know better, we do better. Our activity book series addresses a variety of environmental health topics including noise pollution (Protect and Preserve); water quality (From the Ground to the Glass); and visual pollution (Light. Blight. Sight.). 

Light. Blight. Sight. is our most recent activity book. We cover all manners of visual pollution, including illegal dumping. These activity books are for both children and adults and are freely available to you. We think that they are great classroom companions as they cover human anatomy, biology, chemistry, and mathematics. You can request as many as you need!

For more information, call 769-572-7547 or send an email to erica_walker@brown.edu.