On April 21, South Coast AQMD’s air quality education programs, the Why Healthy Air Matters Program (WHAM) and the Clean Air Program for Elementary Students (CAPES) hosted two virtual events to celebrate Earth Day. Students in classrooms from across the air basin participated in the virtual events to learn about South Coast AQMD, the importance of air quality and career pathways in the environmental field.

CAPES also participated at this year’s Orange County Children’s Water Festival at UC Irvine on March 30. Over 3,000 elementary students were in attendance. South Coast AQMD representatives spoke to students about the importance of clean air and distributed over 1,500 reusable water bottles to encourage students to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

For the 2022-23 school year, both CAPES and WHAM have participated in and hosted events throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Over 2,000 students attended 10 WHAM webinars from September to May.

For more information on CAPES or WHAM, contact Iliana Garcia.