How do you make walking to school more appealing than taking the bus? You create a walking school bus!!!
How do you create a walking school bus? You start with one super motivated parent, you get his enthusiastic wife on board, you round up a bunch of interested parent helpers and oh, it helps if you get a federal grant to pay for safety vests, stop-signs and t-shirts.
This is exactly what my neighbors Scott and Jenny Bordon did recently. Their 'walking school bus' was kicked off on Earth Day to encourage more kids to walk to the neighborhood elementary school. They set up 4 separate routes to the school, each with a parent leader who is armed with a safety vest and stop sign. Each route picks up kids along the way and they have quite a crowd by the time they get to school! So far it has been a huge success and has gotten a lot of local press. They have over 100 kids walking to school 2 days a week through the end of the school year!! Pretty cool, huh?
Interested in starting a walking school bus in your area? Jenny told me that it was pretty easy to pull together and they were happily surprised at how many parents and kids 'climbed on board' to help make it happen. They received a grant from the Safe Routes to School program - a federal program that encourages kids to safely walk and bicycle to school. You certainly don't need a grant to get people to walk to school but a little cash might help get things off the ground.
What are your thoughts on walking to school? Did you walk to school as a child? Do your kids walk? Is walking encouraged or discouraged by your school?
Update: Did you know that National Walk to School Day is October 5th, 2011? Healthy Child, Healthy World is partnering with Every Body Walk to help promote this important day! Do you plan to participate?
{image from Startribune.com}
Yes, I walked to school as a child more than half of my twelve years. How I wish there had been parent leaders! My siblings and I were accosted too frequently by bullies who hurt us. Then there was the dirty old man who drove around in his ancient Cadillac and tried to entice children into his car. Sometimes he went off the deep end, tried to block us into an alley and came after us with a truncheon. We were wily and quick and always escaped, but he was a terror.
This is a wonderful thing your neighbors are doing. With a trusted adult to assure safety, the children can enjoy the fresh air, the changing weather and seasons, and all the sensory delights awaiting them along the way--bird song, flowers in bloom, savory and sweet kitchen aromas. They learn camaraderie, watching out for one another, and the joy of community.
I give gratitude for the adults taking time from their busy days to nurture their children in this way. May they be thrice blessed.
Posted by: graceonline | May 20, 2010 at 12:46 AM
Great post Michaela,
I am seeing more and more of that in my neighborhood, started spontaneously by parents! I too walked over a mile to school each way as child - uphill both way - really (and down since we had a Dr Seuss type walk, down one hill and up the next.)
It's too easy to get over reliant on the car in Southern California and I know I am guilty.
Posted by: mcmilker | May 20, 2010 at 05:55 AM
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Posted by: Cricket Saunders | May 21, 2010 at 08:05 AM
What a wonderful idea!!! I remember walking to school as a kid and am always baffled by the parents that drive their kids to school when the school is less than a block from home. Thank you for sharing!
Posted by: Samantha | May 21, 2010 at 02:05 PM
Thanks for the great post on walking to school. I walked as a child and my kids walk to school every day. It's so good for all of us ... and the environment. I hope more schools and parents make efforts to give children the opportunity to walk to school.
-Deb for Ecover
Posted by: Ecover Blog | May 26, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Yeah - I love the idea of a walking school bus! Kudos to your neighbors for starting such a wonderful {and fun!} thing for the kids and parents!
Posted by: faith moser | May 28, 2010 at 12:04 PM
I really think this is an excellent way to not only get our kids motivated and exercising (because there is no easy way to do that) but also to teach them how doing something small, like walking to school everyday, plays a bigger role in helping the environment by not only preserving natural resources but also by reducing vehicle emissions into the air.
As a Green mom, I am always looking for new ways to educate myself and my children about why Green is good and why helping the environment is so important. I recently stumbled across a blog that I found to have a lot of enlightening information about Green trends and issues, http://www.greeneutopia.com . I recently read an article about the benefits of watering your organic garden with recycled rainwater and I bought a rain barrel from them and just happened to wander around the rest of the site as well. I hope others can benefit from this resource.
So moms, if you need some info or a rain catcher perhaps... (http://www.greeneutopia.com)
Good Luck in Being Green!
-Sabrina
Posted by: Sabrina Ahmed | June 13, 2010 at 03:25 PM
'I give gratitude for the adults taking time from their busy days to nurture their children in this way. May they be thrice blessed.'
I couldn't have put it better myself, totally agree :-)
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Posted by: TomTaylor565 | October 25, 2010 at 05:32 AM
This is a great idea and a very good investment for health, too! Kids should make a habit of this while they're still young; it's a very good exercise and they've got nothing to lose. This is one of the advantages of living close to school!
Posted by: Beatrice Norling | August 01, 2011 at 11:59 AM