Fresh, clean air is precious and essential. Like food and water, the quality of air that we breathe is fundamental to life, health and well-being. In an ideal world we would have an unlimited supply of clean air. The reality is that we do not. The air in most urban areas, where the vast majority of people live, work and play, contains many different pollutants that can affect our health and quality of life.

Air Aware is a FREE, national program, available in both French and English, that is dedicated to enhancing our personal health and the quality of the air we breathe. Air Aware shares important information about air quality, active living, allergies and asthma, educating Canadians about the important interconnections between these four things.

Through our Champions, who deliver dynamic and interactive presentations that are approximately one hour in length, Air Aware inspires Canadians to adopt more active, empowered and sustainable lifestyles. The program consists of three unique modules specifically tailored for our key audiences:

1. Schools – a curriculum-connected learning module for students in Grades 6 through 12 plus post-secondary (visit the School Zone for details)
2. Sport and Recreation – a general awareness module focused on active youth, parents, coaches and administrators in sport/recreation organizations from club to national team levels designed to improve the sporting experience for all (visit the Sport/Rec Zone for details)
3. Coaches – an e-learning module currently in development that addresses the issues of risk and liability along with specific training on asthma, allergy and air quality for coaches (visit the Coach Zone for details)

Because breathing “just happens” without a second thought for many of us, it is easy to take air for granted, forgetting the 14,000 or so breaths we take each and every day. Many air pollutants are colourless, odourless and so microscopically small that we can easily be unaware when we are breathing air that can, over time, be harmful to our health. Yet for the three million or more Canadians who contend with respiratory disease, including asthma and allergy, clean air makes all the difference between a normal active lifestyle and being restricted in some way.

Approximately one in eight Canadians has been diagnosed with asthma, and nearly one in three Canadians has one or more allergies