Schools put their best foot forward and give the car the boot
Medlar with Wesham CE Primary and St Josephs RC Primary have been encouraging pupils to walk with their parents to school rather than getting lifts in cars for short distances.
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School children in Wesham are being given a helping hand with their walking to school week this week thanks to work with the FLoWE project and a generous donation from the Environment Agency.
Medlar with Wesham CE Primary and St Josephs RC Primary have joined together to mark Walk to School Week by encouraging pupils to walk with their parents to school rather than getting lifts in cars for short distances. The idea is to promote fitness and also reduce the affect on the environment through the unnecessary car journey.
To enable the pupils to study how much they walk each day the Environment Agency has provided 50 pedometers each to the two schools that can be worn by children.
Picture featuring children from St Josephs school and Medlar with Wesham CE Primary wearing their pedometers
Andrew Loynd, Project Manager for FLoWE said: “With child obesity being an issue that all schools and many parents are greatly concerned about, walk to school schemes such as these are very important. They not only tackle the problem but also give parents some extra quality time with their children and other parents while also benefiting the environment.’
Kate Cox, Area Communications Officer at the Environment Agency said:
“It is important to realise that we all can play a part in responding to the challenges of climate change. Walking to school is a great small step to reduce carbon emissions from our cars. By working together we can all make a difference.”
This year, for National Walk to School Week (18-22 May), pupils are being encouraged to ‘Walk ‘n’ Talk’ on their way to school to experience the social aspect that walking together has for individuals and communities. Around 50 % of the UK’s school children currently don’t walk to school regularly, with an enormous 41% being driven to school in cars, despite the fact that the average distance to primary schools remains around one mile.
The National charity, Living Streets, runs the highly successful Walk to School campaign, which encourages over two million children, parents and teachers to leave their cars at home and walk to school.
For more information about National Walk to School Week please visit www.walktoschool.org.uk.
For more information about climate change please visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
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