carter’s project in BC schools:
Helping Kids Breathe Easier Every Day
In July 2023, nine-year-old Carter Vigh from 100 Mile House tragically lost his life from a severe asthma attack triggered by poor air quality. The nearest official air quality monitor was nearly 100 km away — and even that clear sky masked dangerous conditions that likely contributed to his death. Real-time, local air quality information might have made all the difference.
Carter’s Project was created in his honour to make air quality information real, immediate, and usable for families and communities throughout British Columbia.
What We’re Doing: Bringing Carter’s Project to BC Schools
Children spend many of their waking hours at school — and schools need the knowledge and tools to ensure the air students breathe is safe, whether from wildfire smoke, wood smoke in winter, or seasonal pollution.
Carter’s Project in BC Schools will
- Install real-time air quality monitors at participating schools so educators, staff, and families can see accurate local air data every day.
- Distribute classroom-friendly indoor air monitors for staff and student learning.
- Provide air quality education tailored for students, teachers, and parents about what the data means and how to stay safe.
- Support hands-on learning, including safe air decision-making and practical steps to improve indoor air quality.
These measures help keep students with asthma and other respiratory conditions safer and empower entire school communities with knowledge they can act on.
Why It Matters
Air quality is a critical determinant of lung health. Poor air conditions — whether from wildfire smoke or everyday pollutants — can trigger asthma and other respiratory distress, especially among children. Real-time, local monitoring and education enable families and schools to make informed decisions about outdoor activities, classroom ventilation, and other protective steps.
Carter’s Project has already provided dozens of outdoor and hundreds of indoor monitors across BC, reaching communities like 100 Mile House and Dawson Creek, and showing how communities can harness real data to stay safe.
Impact Outcomes
With your support, this campaign will:
- Help all participating BC schools access real-time air quality information.
- Equip educators with tools and training to interpret and act on air data.
- Support healthier learning environments for kids with asthma and other breathing conditions.
- Increase awareness of air quality’s impact on child health across the province.
Concrete targets (e.g., number of schools, number of monitors, workshop goals) can be added here.
- Identify and recruit participating schools.
- Order and install air quality monitors (both outdoor and indoor units).
- Deliver air quality education sessions for students and staff.
- Launch a public dashboard or school-specific reporting tools so families can see local air quality data in real time.
To make Carter’s Project in BC Schools a reality, we need your support.
Your donation will:
- Fund the procurement and installation of air quality monitors.
- Support curriculum development and educational sessions.
- Help expand this life-saving program into more communities across BC.
Give today to help kids breathe easier
Thank you for your compassion, generosity, and belief that every child deserves the chance to learn, play, and grow in healthy air. Together, we can turn Carter’s memory into a lasting force for good in schools across BC.