Five GoodGym runners were given Middlesex University air quality monitors to assess the air quality around them as they moved about in the month of October. All of them reported interesting results he is what George had to say.

Air Quality Monitoring Mission Report from George

Collecting the data was really eye opening. Barnet Council's Air Quality Action Plan marks the North Circular and Tally Ho Corner as some of the most polluted parts of our borough, exceeding WHO limits on particulate matter. However, the times I went to those areas, air quality appeared relatively OK, perhaps due to the wet and windy weather, which reduces particulate pollution. (I also learned later that our monitoring devices don't measure nitrogen oxides, which is the main pollution type from road traffic!)

However, going near smokers dropped the air quality quickly. Also, going climbing (which I love!) put me in a chalk-dusty environment with poor air quality. But the most shocking part was going on the tube.

Open air platforms were fine, but going inside a train carriage lowered the air quality. Underground, the air quality quickly hit zero on the Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Bakerloo lines because of PM10 - the large pollution particles, or soot, which you can see all over the tube. 

And waiting on a platform, arriving trains brought clouds of dust that triggered massive spikes in pollution. The highest reading I got was when two trains came in almost back to back (the first up the Edgware branch, the second one I was waiting for).

The highest reading I got a screenshot of was over 500μg per cubic metre of PM10. The app's measurements only go up to 250μg per cubic metre. I can't imagine how bad that is for your lungs, but I'm now wearing a pollution-filtering mask whenever I travel underground.

Once more, intrepid Goodgymmers gathered at the Phoenix and rose to the challenge of the forest school paths at Martin School. With the sun having just slunk below a moody autumn horizon and clouds threatening rain, we had the added bonus of it being George's first time leading a group run.

Fortunately with two experienced Goodgymmers running alongside, Paul and Rupesh, nothing could go wrong. We warmed up gamely, sharing exercises and swapping stories of our favourite warming winter food. Then we jogged up the High Road to the school.

There, met by groundskeeper John with flashlight and tools, we got stuck in to the now much-compacted mulch pile. We filled wheelbarrow and wheelie bin, carting woodchips down the path and spreading them with our trusty rakes. Even Gus, our unofficial mascot, eagerly chipped in by keeping foxes at bay while we worked.

We toiled swiftly and fully chipped the path from the gate to arch, where darkness swallowed our feeble torchlight and we were like, nah, maybe stop there, which was fortunate because time had run out and so, after a brief exchange of stories about Shaolin monks and Chinese martial arts with John, we trekked back to the Phoenix Cinema for a gentle warm down, and for Gus to hydrate.

Another great session, the paths well mulched and ready for the forest school's next horizon-expanding experience.