A One Health Initiative For Air Pollution: Student-Living Gardens

Abstract

Air pollution is one of the largest issues facing our planet to date. It leads to a variety of severe consequences including an increased incidence of respiratory illness in humans and non-human animals, damage to plants, and exacerbation of climate change. An enormous contributor to air pollution is the livestock farming industry which, in addition to its negative environmental impacts, detrimentally affects the mental health and well-being of non-human animals through various unnatural practices. However, air pollution may be mitigated by planting gardens at homes located in the student-living area of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. These gardens would include vegetables, low-maintenance plants, and edible native species which would remove toxins from the air and provide multiple additional benefits to humans, non-human animals, and the environment. One of the greatest benefits of the proposed gardens would be the provision of vegetables and edible native species, allowing students to consume more plant-based foods and stray away from livestock consumption. The gardens would also increase ecosystem biodiversity, which would not only make plant life more resilient but also help create new opportunities for reliable food sources and habitats. If the success of the proposed initiative were to be proven within the area, additional strategies may be introduced in Kingston to further reduce air pollution and perhaps inspire other university communities to undergo similar changes.