The Regional Center for Border Health is collaborating with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on the binational school project Pocket Labs, aimed at raising awareness among young people about the importance of air quality monitoring.

The first school in the area to participate in the project was PPEP Tec High School, with students from the César Chávez Learning Center in San Luis. The students in the science class learned how to use portable monitors to measure air quality.

Joaquín Marrufo, manager of ADEQ’s Border Program, said that in March 2024 the project received funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, launching the program in two schools in Nogales, Arizona, and one in Nogales, Sonora, reaching 120 students and 80 teachers.

The program aims for students to

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