Projects
UNM CHANGES Community Engagement Work in Mora and San Miguel
The Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon (HPCC) fire in 2022 was the largest wildfire in New Mexico's history, and has had devastating impacts on the communities of Moraand San Miguel counties who residedownwind, downgradient and downstream from the burn scar. Through the UNM CHANGES Community Engagement Core, we are cultivating community partnerships in northern New Mexico to guide our Center's efforts to trace associations between extreme weather events and community health. Following the leadership of our advisory committee and community partners, we have identified three major areas of concern that require ongoing post-fire monitoring and intervention: (1) air quality impacts from wildfire smoke; (2) surface water and groundwater quantity and quality issues related to the burn scar; and (3) soil quality and land restoration efforts amid ongoing flooding and erosion. In response, we are working in collaboration with Project 2 to implement acommunity air monitoring network, and supplement local water quality sampling efforts for metals and organic compounds.
The GC-AirWise Project: A Community-Based Air Quality Monitoring Project in Grant County, New Mexico
The Grant County Air Information and Research for a Well-Informed Society (GC-AirWise) is a partnership between researchers from the Community Health Allied Network for Geospatial and Environmental Science (CHANGES) Research Center at the University of New Mexico and the Gila Resource Information Project (GRIP), a community organization in Grant County. Together, the teams were working to better understand and improve local air quality, which was highlighted as a priority by the community partners.
This project follows a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, meaning community members help guide every step of the work, from deciding where to collect data to sharing results with the public. Our main goals were to:
- Co-design, deploy, and assess the effectiveness of IoT-based air quality sensors with community partners
- Utilize geospatial modeling to map distributions of particulate matter
- Co-design a public web dashboard for real-time data access, and
- Build community capacity for environmental health monitoring.
A total of 11 air quality sensors were installed across Grant County that measure tiny particles in the air called particulate matter (PM). Our partners at GRIP chose where to place the sensors based on their knowledge of the area. We also placed cameras near mine sites to capture images of dust events and compare them with data from the sensors. The sensors send data to a website (air-wise.org,) which was co-designed with GRIP and can be accessed by the public.
Data from the sensors showed that levels of PM2.5 (very fine particles that can harm health) were higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) safety standard. During the study, a large wildfire called the Trout Fire burned more than 50,000 acres in the Gila National Forest. Our sensors recorded sustained elevated levels of PM 2.5 exceeding the OSHA 8-hour standard of 100 µg/m3, with instantaneous readings as high as 1,180 µg/m3. This real-time data was also shared through the Watch Duty™ wildfire app, allowing community members to see which areas were at higher risk of hazardous air quality. Mapping results showed that areas in the East and Northeast of Grant County, particularly around the Mimbres Valley, tended to have higher levels of particulate matter.
We continue to work with GRIP to maintain and improve the sensor network, conduct additional forms of environmental sampling, add new monitoring tools like a local weather station, and make the public dashboard more user-friendly. This partnership is helping build local capacity for environmental health research and giving community members the information they need to protect their health and advocate for cleaner air.
