Welcome to the Idle Off project!

Stand in any school car park at afternoon pick-up time and count the vehicles and buses with their engines idling. You’ll probably be surprised by the number!

Each of these vehicles is releasing a mix of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (NO and NO₂) and other toxins that affect the health and wellbeing of students.

The simple fact is there’s no good reason to sit in an idling vehicle.

If you’re a school student, you have a really important role to play in raising awareness about the issue of dangerous vehicle emissions around your school.

The Idle Off Project has been designed for high school students and can be completed over a few weeks or a whole year. It’s completely up to your project group and teacher.

There are 4 downloadable project sheets on this website:

1. What are transport emissions?
2. Measuring air pollution around your school
3. Tell your school community to IDLE OFF!
4. Messaging and ideas to help you communicate

These project sheets are designed to be a guide only...so, please feel free to create and add your own ideas and extra activities to suit your project group!

A Look At The Issue

> Project Sheet 1

Investigate & Analyse

> Project Sheet 2

Finding A Solution

> Project Sheet 3

Make It Memorable

> Project Sheet 4

There are 4 IDLE OFF project objectives:

1. To understand the danger of vehicle emissions to human health
2. To discover how much air pollution is around your school
3. To help students, teachers, parents and bus drivers understand the risks of idling vehicles to student health
4. To help your school community to IDLE OFF!

Glossary of words

• Sh*t! I Smoke app
• US-based school project: The No Idling Project
• Howcast: How to make a pollution catcher (YouTube)
• Real time air quality index for New Zealand
• Real time air quality index for Australia
• Lung Foundation: Expert Position Statement on health-based standards for Australian regulated thresholds of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone in ambient air
• Australian Government, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Air quality
• Doctors for the Environment Australia: Better fuel for cleaner air draft regulation impact statement
• New Zealand Ministry for the Environment: Air
• Wiley Online Library: Traffic pollution near childcare centres in Melbourne

• International Council on Clean Transportation: A global snapshot of the air pollution-related health impacts of transportation sector emissions in 2010 and 2015
• Royal College of Physicians: Every breath we take; the lifelong impact of air pollution
• The US EPA: Idle-Free Schools Toolkit for a Healthy School Environment
• World Health Organisation: Ambient (outdoor) air pollution
• Causal Associations State of Global Air 2017
• University of Surrey - Global Centre for Clean Air Research guidance for schools
• NYC pays big bounties for reporting idling engines; D.C. makes it easy with 311 app
• Idle Threat - the movie
• The school pick-up pollution risk - Sydney Morning Herald

Do you have a great idea that you'd like to share with other students? Tell the IDLE OFF team about it! You can email us at hello@idleoff.com.au - please copy in your mum, dad or teacher, as well as your project group. We'd love to hear how your Idle Off project is going, or how successful you thought it was!

Emma is an electric vehicle charging, conversions & safety specialist, & the Project Director of EV FireSafe, a research & testing project looking at risks to emergency responders at EV traction battery fires. She is also a Climate Reality Project Leader with the global Al Gore-led group & drives an EV that is charged from her off-grid home solar system.

Clare is involved in both research and advocacy aimed at reducing the health impacts of air pollution. She's the author of a number of peer reviewed papers focused on air pollution and health in Australia, is a guest lecturer at the University of Melbourne in environmental science and population health and a regular speaker at environment and/or health related events. Clare is the co-chair of the Health Special Interest Group of the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand, and a member of the Public Health Association of Australia and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Nathan is a long time car guy who has worked around the world with car and truck brands, including Tesla. Nathan now helps fleets and government transition to cleaner, greener vehicles as a Sustainable Transport Consultant with Mov3ment.

Chris is the President of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, that was formed in 1973 and is a rapidly growing community of EV owners and businesses focused on the uptake of low-or-zero emission vehicles. The AEVA is a not-for-profit organisation that manages a range of public events, educational sessions and branch meetings, with the aim of switching Australia's transport networks to electric drive.

The Idle Off Project is funded by EV FireSafe & managed by the Australian Electric Vehicle Association. We are proudly endorsed by: