Charity, Education | Posted on July 8th, 2024 | return to news
Corfe Mullen school pupils top wheel challenge
During the 11-day Big Walk and Wheel challenge, 59 per cent of Lockyer’s School pupils, travelled by foot, scooter, bicycle or wheelchair.
Lockyer’s Middle School led the way in this year’s 11-day Big Walk and Wheel challenge with 59 per cent of pupils travelling to the Corfe Mullen school by foot, scooter, bicycle or wheelchair.
Delivered by the active travel charity Sustrans, the challenge is open to all primary and secondary schools, with participating schools competing to see which can achieve the highest number of pupils walking, using a wheelchair, scooting or cycling to school.
This year it took place between 11-22 March, and across Dorset school children rose to the challenge to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution during the school run.
Twenty schools in the region took part, and together they saved the equivalent of 15,648kg of CO2 and 23kg of NOx of car emissions from entering the atmosphere.
Charlotte Sullivan, Dorset Council’s Active Travel officer, said: “It was great to see so many Dorset schools participating in the Big Walk and Wheel Challenge this year. Pupils should be really proud of the impressive number of active travel journeys they managed to log.
“Replacing short journeys in the car with more active travel like walking, cycling and wheeling offers so many benefits for our health, finances and environment. It can also help reduce traffic, particularly at school pick-up and drop off, helping make quieter, safer streets.”
To support the challenge, the council’s Bike It Plus project held events at schools in the county to encourage families to ditch the car and try ‘active travel’ for the daily school run. Families were invited to attend learn to ride sessions, bike maintenance workshops, puncture repair sessions, Dr Bike and smoothie bike sessions. And, as a reward for travelling in by foot, scooter, bicycle or wheelchair, pupils and their families were treated to a special breakfast.
Anna Philps, Sustrans Bike It officer for Dorset Council, said: “Thanks to all the schools and local families across Dorset who took part in the Big Walk and Wheel. This is a fantastic result for the region, and really demonstrates how a small change in the way we travel can have a big impact on our local environment.
“We know from our work with schools that children really love getting active on the school run. Parents save money by reducing fuel costs; it’s a great way for children to explore and gives them healthy habits to take into adulthood.”
Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel is an annual event which is open to all primary and secondary schools in the UK.
Free resources are available on the Sustrans website to encourage pupils to help reduce air pollution and learn about the benefits of active travel for themselves, their schools, their neighbourhoods, and the planet.
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