Youngsters are being encouraged to come up
with unusual ways of making their journey to school as part of
Peterborough City Council's Travelchoice team's Miles Better
week.
From today (Monday 23 May) to Friday 27 May
2011, children from nearly 30 schools across Peterborough will be
taking part in a competition which rewards them for walking,
cycling, car sharing or catching the bus to school.
Pupils will be given recording cards which
they will stamp each time they make an environmentally friendly
journey to school. School classes will also colour in footprints on
a giant map of the UK with the aim of completing a full circle
starting and finishing in Peterborough, passing through places of
interest on the way.
Prizes will be awarded to the school and class
which travels the furthest around the map. Pupils who walk, cycle,
bus, car share or park and stride for five consecutive days will
also be entered into a prize draw and ten children picked at random
will win a Travelchoice goody bag.
Year 3 and 4 youngsters at Sacred Heart
Primary School, in Bretton, Peterborough, have come up with the
idea of 'Weird Wednesday' (25 May 2011), where children make their
journey to school in the strangest way they can think of. Those
children who travel by car are being asked to park and meet at
Sainsbury’s at Bretton Centre beforehand to form a walking bus and
walk to school with teachers in an unusual way. They will be joined
by the Travelchoice mascot, Carloss.
Nicola Ward, the school's eco-leader, said:
"The children came up with the idea of Weird Wednesday as part of
their eco lessons. They looked at sustainable transport, the use of
ever-reducing fossil fuels and the problems associated with CO2
emissions in their environment, and created a short film called
“Save our Planet” which discussed the issues. They wanted to
put what they had learnt into practice, so they decided to ask the
whole school to travel that day in the strangest possible way.
"I don't think any two children will be
travelling in the same way - we have one child walking in a monkey
suit, and others space-hopping, walking backwards, skipping and
cartwheeling. The children have worked really hard to organise
this, coming up with special stickers and certificates for those
who take part, and have also led an assembly to ask the other
children to take part."
Nicola Winstone, the city council's
Travelchoice travel plan officer for schools, said: "The Miles
Better sustainable travel competition recognises a variety of
transport methods as travelling sustainably. During Miles Better
this year, we are asking parents and children to give it a go and
see how enjoyable walking, cycling and car sharing the school
journey can be. It’s a great way to socialise with friends, get to
know the community and burn off some energy before starting the
school day."