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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

International Walk To School Month

International Walk to School Month gives children, parents, school teachers and community leaders an opportunity to be part of a global event to celebrate the benefits of walking. In 2009, millions of walkers from around the globe walked to school together hoping to create communities that are safe places to walk.

Last year a record 40 countries participated in the 2009 International Walk to School events, and new countries are joining this international event all the time. An international event can create a higher level of awareness of the issues within the community that surrounds the journey to and from school.

For many parents around the world, the car has become the main means of transporting children to and from school. The reasons of convenience, work commitments, safety concerns and general changes in lifestyle in a growing economy are just some of the factors influencing their choice of the car as a mode of travel to and from school for their children. Of course, in rural areas the bus is used to transport students to school; however, once the student is at the school, and in a safe territory they should be encouraged to exercise by short walks on school property or near-by.

The proportion of journeys to school made by car has increased considerably in the last several years, with the effect being a gradual decline in the numbers of children walking to and from school on a regular basis. This shows the lack of daily exercise for our students that need to exercise in order to stay healthy. Remember the old stories from your parents or grand-parents that HAD to walk to school up-hill both ways in the snow?

The general themes that are promoted during the International Walk to School month (IWALK) include: increasing daily physical activity, improving safety, enhancing the environment, developing community cohesion, promoting social interaction and reducing traffic congestion, pollution and speed near schools.

For students who cannot walk to school, encourage recess or lunch walking clubs and have students track the number of kilometers they walk. Challenge the entire school to walk across Canada or the world by walking to school/at school and keeping track of their kilometers.

To learn more about this international event visit http://www.iwalktoschool.org/. T-shirts and other “walk to school” gifts can viewed at: http://shop.cafepress.ca/walk-to-school.

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