Student ‘Clean Air Campaign’ continues effort to reduce airborne pollutants

By Ed Pierce

It’s a proven fact that our lungs can heal themselves when they're no longer exposed to pollutants and are a key component to everyone’s overall health and well-being. With that in mind, the “Clean Air Campaign” is part of a project launched to support the clean air policies within public buildings like schools, municipal offices, libraries and outdoor spaces like parks, conservation lands, and ordinances supporting a smoke-free environment.

The winning design for the Clean Air Campaign's
2025 Window Cling competition was created 
by sophomore Margaret 'Maggie' Soule of
Windham High School. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

This year-long initiative has been taken up by Windham and Raymond students in conjunction with the Be The Influence coalition with the intention to keep air indoors and outdoors clean throughout Lakes Region communities and improve everyone’s health and the environment. Since its launch more than 10 months ago, the “Clean Air Campaign” is on the way to achieving its desired results.

To further raise awareness about the “Clean Air Campaign,” an art design competition for students in the community using art and doodle designs that represents clean air spaces both indoor and outdoor for all was conducted and a winning window cling design was selected.

Patrice Leary-Forrey, Be The Influence Project Director for Windham/Raymond said that the winning design printed for a window cling was chosen by a jury of adults and students on Dec. 11 and will now be recreated into a window cling and distributed throughout the Windham and Raymond communities.

The first phase of the project was to present to members of the Windham Town Council a sign change for public spaces indicating that vaping is not allowed. Participating students attended the Windham Town Council meetings in November to propose the sign ordinance change and the measure was discussed by councilors and passed unanimously during a council meeting on Nov. 12.

“Here in Windham, the Be The Influence Club of Windham High School worked together in November with the Windham Town Council to change the sign ordinance for outdoor spaces to include smoke free from tobacco, vaping and cannabis. The Windham Town Council unanimously passed the sign change for outdoor spaces,” Leary-Forrey said. “With the use of vapes and the medical and recreational use of marijuana in Windham, students wanted to make sign changes to open spaces in the community and keep current the no-smoking message and prevention education for the town.”

To promote that message, the students wanted to extend the effort with an art contest for RSU 14 students to submit artwork for a “Clean Air Cling” allowing the community to take personal accountability in their cars, homes, boats, and small businesses stressing the importance of clean air for everyone.

The new clings will send a personal message that supports the health and wellness of friends, family and loved ones, said Leary-Forrey.

The winning art design for the new 2025 Clean Air Cling was created by Margaret “Maggie” Soule, a sophomore at Windham High School.

“As a community we can continue to ensure the health and wellness of all by supporting this community project,” Leary-Forrey said. “The 2025 Clean Air Window Cling will be available mid-January at the Public Safety Buildings, Town Office, Public Libraries of Windham and Raymond. Small businesses in the community are encouraged to showcase the youth-driven project by showcasing the cling in the windows and company cars.”

Leary-Forrey said that the third phase of the “Clean Air Campaign” is prevention education of the health impact of Tobacco/Vape/Marijuana on an individual and for public and personal spaces and that’s the underlying purpose of the window cling.

“The window clings will be distributed by students in the spring and summer for individuals and families to put on their boats, cars, business, homes and they support clean air and community health and wellness,” she said. “The idea is to raise awareness of the science behind smoke of all types and the individual health impact it can have over time. Students will help distribute the window clings, prevention materials and provide the Quit Link/QR codes to anyone who wants to improve their personal health and wellness.”

According to Leary-Forrey, BTI is supporting this youth-driven “Clean Air Campaign” project and is committed to supporting youth and keeping the community healthy and thriving.

“Keeping the community current with education and awareness so that everyone can have a positive healthy experience when visiting and accessing indoor and outdoor spaces in Windham and Raymond is the primary goal for this project,” she said.

If you or someone you know wants to quit tobacco, vape, or nicotine product, text the Quit Link for Maine: https://mainequitlink.com/ or 1-800-quitnow or for additional support/referrals call 211 Maine Information Line.

For further details about the “Clean Air Campaign,” call BTI at 207-804-6742 or send an email to btidirector@windhammaine.us <

New director settles into leadership role for BTI

By Kaysa Jalbert

Windham’s Be The Influence Coalition has welcomed a new Director, Patrice Leary-Forrey, to the team as it enters year eight of a 10-year grant awarded by the Drug Free Communities to help prevent youth substance abuse in the towns of Windham and Raymond.

Patrice Leary-Forrey is the new director
of the Be The Influence Coalition. She
will lead BTI initiatives in Windham and
Raymond to help deter substance abuse
by youth in the community.
COURTESY PHOTO 

“It’s been amazing so far,” says Leary-Forrey. “The community has been so welcoming and responsive to the program over the years. We have a great leadership team, and I am excited to work with everyone.”

Leary-Forrey says she has been working with other members of the leadership program to carry out on-going initiatives by the coalition in efforts to raise more awareness about substance abuse to the community’s youth, however the new director has some ideas of her own to implement as well.

“I would like to hone-in on prevention of protecting kids from access to substances,” she said. “A new initiative would be to offer lock boxes for families during the Drug Take Back Days that the public safety hosts.”

Drug Take Back Day, according to the official DEA website, encourages the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction. It also acts as a reminder to keep medications out of reach of children and locked away.

The lock box initiative would allow parents, grandparents, and guardians to keep personal products and medications locked and secure out of the hands of toddlers and teenagers.

“I'm going to be working hopefully with poison control and Maine CDC to help support that initiative and bring that opportunity to families,” says Leary-Forrey.

Until then, Leary-Forrey plans to focus on executing projects that are already in the works alongside her leadership team. Along with Crystal Aldrich, the Project Coordinator for BTI, they are working together on a youth mattering initiative with the Maine Resiliency Building Network, a program that focuses on community involvement in promoting mental health and well-being amongst young people.

Another plan includes a sequel event to the Jammin’ for Mental Health through the Arts event that was held in May 2023. Be The Influence organizes this event annually with community partners Maine Behavioral Healthcare and RSU 14.

BTI and partners have been hosting a series of “Arts of Prevention” events for years using different forms of art such as painting, music, film, and theater to help the youth express themselves and find healthy coping outlets.

“We will be there hosting other not-for-profits and Maine Health and we will be providing information and support to the families who might need resources in the community,” said Leary-Forrey.

The new director is now in week four of her BTI leadership role and has been keeping busy handling grant requirements, meeting folks in the community, and attending meetings. This week’s mission is to attend club meetings such as Youth Leadership at Windham High School as a means to meet the students and explore ways to support them in their everyday activities at school and to provide prevention education regarding substance use and advice about how to make good choices for themselves.

Leary-Forrey said she hopes to soon meet with the health teachers at Windham High School to bring in some evidence-based programming education into the health classes.

“I am so excited to meet the kids and to work with them and support them in their initiatives,” she said.

Prior to this new role, Leary-Forrey worked as a director for a nonprofit in York County for prevention of child abuse and neglect. She explains it was similar work just with a different focus but also required supporting parents and kids in schools.

According to Leary-Forrey, Be The Influence community coalition meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. in the training room at the Windham Public Safety building. It is open to the public to hear updates from the community and what BTI is currently working on.

Leary-Forrey grew up in a small rural town in Southern New Hampshire in the Monadnock Region called Fitzwilliam.

“It was a great place to grow up and shares many similarities to Southern Maine,” she says.

She attended high school at Gould Academy and later pursued her undergraduate degree in Psychology and English at New England College. Afterward, Leary-Forrey moved to California to study at Pepperdine University before transferring to Argosy University in Chicago where she obtained a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

Now, she is a mother of four daughters who are living in Charlotte, North Carolina; Montreal, Canada; and Paris, France. In her free time, Leary-Forrey says she enjoys lots of outdoor activities and sports, watercolor painting, vegetable gardening in the summer and listening to a variety of music and podcasts. <