With the weather warming up and the daylight lasting longer into the evening, it’s prime time to start planning spring activities that get students outside and learning about their local environment. One popular campaign in EcoSchools across the province is a Walk, Roll, and Ride to School campaign.
Has your school already run a Walk, Roll, and Ride to school campaign? If so, you can always mix it up by featuring an exciting new event (see the list of ideas, below) or creating communications materials that speak to a particular advantage of active school travel – whether it be reducing your ecological footprint, improving health and wellness, or simply spending time outside. Here is a tip sheet on planning your social media communications, which can be an effective way to spread the word about your #walktoschool or #biketoschool campaign.
If your school or EcoTeam hasn’t organized active school travel activities, we recommend using our Active Transportation Campaign Kit to guide you in planning, communicating, implementing, and celebrating your campaign. It’s always a smart idea to focus on education, particularly for younger students who may not feel safe walking, rolling, or riding to school independently. Why not organize a walkabout or bike-about in the catchment area for your school to identify features that enable active transportation and areas for improvement? Schools can then work with their city councillor or local police services to enhance safety, for example by getting a brightly-painted crosswalk or speed humps installed. Active and Safe Routes to School has plenty of materials to help you assess and improve safety around school grounds, including a walkabout checklist.
Further ideas for activities:
- Find out if your school board works with a school travel planner! They are a wonderful source of information and can help you develop a unique active school travel plan tailored to your needs, as well as connect you with partners in your community.
- Create a neighbourhood map of safe routes (start with a Google Map showing walking and cycling routes) on which students, with the help of teachers, can draw existing and future routes to school. Students can also point out features in their community like a great park or friendly corner store.
- Plan a cycling skills and safety workshop with expert parents or CAN-BIKE staff.
- Fundraise to install a new bike rack at your school to encourage cycling every day.
- Encourage students and parents to make the trip to school on foot by organizing a Walking School Bus.
- Mark the beginning of your school’s active transportation campaign with personal pledges, a fun assembly, or a welcome party at your school. Have treats like fruit or lemonade on hand to reward participants.
- Track the number of students getting active on their way to school with an interactive poster, then calculate the impact on the environment to further increase participation.
Resources:
- Visit our Best Practice pages for ideas to launch and support your walk, roll, and ride to school activities
- In the GTHA? Visit the new Bike to School Week (running from May 30 to June 3 this year) website, and be sure to register your school to get recognized – and for the chance to win prizes to support you in planning more active school travel activities. You can also find helpful resources to communicate your campaign, including posters and newsletter templates.
- Walking or wheeling to school isn’t just about getting active and reducing the environmental impacts of traffic and idling vehicles: there are also academic and safety benefits! Watch this series of four videos that outline safety tips as well as some of the many benefits of active school travel, produced by a multi-sectoral partnership in Peel Region.
- Read about what’s happening with School Travel Planning – including a new partnership with the Canadian Automobile Association that supports schools students as they choose to walk or wheel – on the Green Communities Canada blog.
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