To mark International Clean Air Day and after nearly 100 rides covering thousands of Kms, Ride for Their Lives headed to Lewisham where Ella lived and tragically died, to raise awareness about the desperate need to clean up the air we breathe.

The ride will started and finished in Mountsfield Park close to Ella’s home. A statue of Ella is currently under development and will reside in the Park to mark her inspiring life.

We visited the Brockley mural of Ella’s mother Rosamund, who has spent the last decade campaigning, first to prove that air pollution was the cause of her daughter’s death and secondly, to try and raise awareness in order to prevent it from happening to other children. The mural was painted in 2023 and voted for by Lewisham residents to represent local black female icons. From there riders will travel through Brockley to Ella’s old primary school, Holbeach Primary, then towards Lewisham Hospital where Ella sadly spent so much of her last few years before her tragic death there on 13th February 2013.

Any health care workers or local people wishing to join the ride are more than welcome to take part. Please do so by completing the form above

Rosamund said:

“We are really honoured that these amazing medics and health professionals, who dedicate so much of their lives to others, are choosing to give up their free time to take part in this ride to mark Ella’s life and to raise awareness about the dangers of air pollution".

Ella was very sporty, loved to ride her bike and we are very humbled Ride for Their Lives will travel around the local area where Ella lived and played, and went to school. We did not know it back then, but now we know that tragically so much of our local area had high levels of air pollution, primarily from the South Circular road, which ultimately led to Ella’s untimely death. Ella remains the only person in the world to have air pollution listed as the cause of death on her death certificate, but we know there are many thousands, millions more who have lost their lives to air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels

Support from GB Olympic Triathlon Gold medalist Alex Yee

Ella’s mother Rosamund, through her tireless campaigning has become one of the most prominent advocates for clean air worldwide and was made a World Health Organisation (WHO) BreatheLife Champion.

The Ella Roberta Foundation believes in a world where everyone can breathe clean air that is free from toxic pollution, no matter where they live, their economic background or their ethnic status.