DEARBORN, Michigan—Picking the right wind is key when kite flying. But that morning at Ford Field Park in Dearborn it took several attempts until Yara Reda and her high school friends could see their kites zigzagging against the cloudy sky.

The group was flying colorful kites—equipped with sensors and cameras—with a special mission: measuring air quality.

“It is easier to learn doing hands-on activities. We realized there was not a lot of wind coming in our area, so it was not easy to fly our kites. But we could measure the air and see that the quality was not as great as we’d want,” Reda said.

While 11th grader Reda and her school friends measured the air quality, student Jason Philpot-Dixon’s team was by the River Rouge “driving an aquatic rover” to check the water quality. Three other groups were working on chemical testing.

It was an intense day, with various skill-building activities for 22 youth, ages 16 to 18, part of the Environmental Health Research-to-Action Academy.

EHRA started in 2018 in Dearborn’s Southend. It is a community-academic partnership focused on building skills and intergenerational knowledge in environmental health, community science and policy advocacy to address cumulative environmental exposures in the nearby communities.

“We start asking what is environmental justice? What is environmental racism?” said EHRA co-founder Natalie Sampson, associate professor of public health at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. “Then what is environmental health? What is the science around this and how does it affect health?”

To answer these questions and tackle some of these issues, students must go beyond just collecting air and water quality data, and learn what to do with the collected information, Sampson says.

“The students learn about existing data, the importance of mapping and why history matters,” she said. “Then they have to finally bring these issues home with storytelling, understanding how to communicate in plain language and be effective policy advocates. The main goal of EHRA is to gain knowledge around the different skills one needs to be part of environmental decision-making in our country.”

In its fifth year and with a network of about 100 alums, EHRA academies happen every summer and entail 2.5 intensive weeks of active learning, including an environmental bus tour of local air pollution sources, mapping risks and assets with community leaders, development of an air monitoring action plan, practice using handheld air monitors, and engagement in policy education training.

“Our summer academy is meaningful because students also interact directly with policymakers, community members, environmental justice advocates and experts in the field,” said Carmel Price, EHRA co-founder and UM-Dearborn associate professor of sociology. “We design the academy to be empowering; we want youth to lift up their voices and embrace an environmental justice framework as they move forward throughout their careers and lives.”

Student Philpot-Dixon, who drove the aquatic rover at Ford Field Park, joined EHRA to learn how he could be a part of the solution against environmental injustice. As a young community member, he wanted to understand the causes of the main problems in Detroit and Dearborn and possibly find effective ways to work with local factories, which are the major polluters of the area.

“We have to find a solution together so the companies can grow without harming the environment,” he said. “This is particularly important to me because I grew up with terrible asthma. I knew this problem was a direct correlation to my neighborhood environment because when traveling and going to different areas, I could breathe a lot easier. So I chose to know the root of the problem and what I can do to influence other people and help change.”

Learning, inspiring change

Student Ayaat Shiaab lives in an area with multiple factories in the Southend of Dearborn. She says it is common to see a plume of smoke and emissions outside. The air quality is problematic, mainly because most of her neighbors are older with underlying health concerns.

“I wanted to understand more about the environment to work with my community members to try to prevent any future diseases or disorders from increasing,” she said. “In the program, I have learned that home pollution tends to be a major factor in air pollution, in general. Limiting their energy usage, preventing or not using fueled stoves, for example, can improve the air quality.”

For Shiaab, the program’s highlights included the bus tour around Detroit and the discussion panels, especially one that explored how the environment plays a major role in mental health.

“If we as community members don’t have good mental health, that is reflected based on our environment,” she said. “So, if we change our environment, improve its quality, we would improve ourselves. It is important to have information to bring more awareness to these topics and be proactive.”

Regardless of her career path, Shiaab wants to focus on volunteering and advocacy in the near future.

“I want the world to be better and I hope to help decrease climate change,” she said. “I want us to be able to reuse, reduce, recycle and be more in tune with nature. EHRA has brought me closer to people who have similar interests to me and want to make a change in the world. I’ve been able to learn from them and teach as well. This whole cycle has been very enlightening.”

Standing, strong connections

Besides youth academies, EHRA hosts a virtual series designed by youth leaders for teens eager to address environmental and social justice issues in Dearborn and beyond. The team also translates agency documents into plain language, keeping scientific information but helping to ensure readability to the general public so they can engage in environmental decision-making in their community.

“Our students all go on to shine in different ways on their own personal and professional paths,” Sampson said. “We just want to offer them skills, resources and connections so they can contribute in the ways they see fit.”

Yara Reda’s older sister, Zeina, is a 2023 graduate of U-M and an alum of the 2018 EHRA Academy. She served as a program youth coordinator, worked as a research assistant and co-authored a peer-reviewed manuscript about the academy.

“EHRA and its invaluable teachings have become foundational to who I am as an advocate, a leader and a learner,” said Zeina Reda, who majored in political science.

“EHRA has taught me to recognize the power of my voice as a youth, the strength of my story as a woman of color, and the impact of intergenerational work as a means to mobilize for justice. I hope to take these lessons, alongside a commitment to empowerment and education, to further a career dedicated to supporting and amplifying the underrepresented voice.”

Planning to pursue a career in environmental justice, the youngest Reda says the EHRA program has driven her toward her passions and helped her understand that environmental justice is more than just stopping water pollution or low air quality.

“It’s about protecting the youth,” Yara Reda said. “The diseases that some people are catching are just terrible. It’s all connected to these disasters that they’re experiencing in their area. Throughout this program, it’s allowed me to understand that environmental justice is more than just the environment. It’s about the people.”