International Walk to School Day to be observed locally in Pooler, other locations on Oct. 3

This post was written by John Bennett

October 1, 2007

What’s the most sustainable way to get to school? Walking and bicycling of course! Safe Kids of Savannah, Pedestrian Advocates of the Coastal Empire and other sponsors are organizing local events to mark International Walk to School Day on Oct. 3. at 8:15, at Pooler Elementary School and First Baptist Church of Pooler. Other schools around the county are having their own walk to school programs. This is the eighth year that the event has been observed locally.

Once common activities, walking and bicycling to school have declined dramatically in recent years. Check out these dismal numbers from the Centers for Disease Control:

• In 1969, 42 percent of students walked or bicycled to school.
• In 2001, 16 percent of students between the ages of 5 and 15 walked or bicycled to or from school.
• More than a third of youth aged 9 to 15 years live within a mile of school, but less than half of these students walk or bike to school even one day per week.

It’s easy to identify the sustainability advantages of more children walking or bicycling to school. And children see substantial benefits, especially in the lowered emissions. From the International Walk to School Day in the USA Web site:

Walking or biking to school protects the environment and your health. When children decide to lace-up their sneakers to walk, or strap on their bike helmets to pedal to school instead of riding in a car, they reduce the amount of air pollutants emitted by automobiles.

These air pollutants can be especially harmful to children. Children have respiratory systems that are not fully developed, they spend more time at higher activity levels, which can cause them to breath more deeply and take in more air pollution. They are also more likely to have asthma or other acute respiratory problems that can be aggravated by air pollution than other age groups. By walking or riding a bike to school, children lower the amount of vehicle miles traveled, which helps reduce toxic air pollutants.

In fact, an EPA study found that, “schools placed in neighborhoods near residential areas with a good street and sidewalk network have more students arriving by bicycle and on foot.” The result? “Air quality is measurably better at such locations.”

For more information about local events, contact Alison Gramza at 912-691-7445 or amgramza [at] dhr.state.ga.us

Posted in Advocacy, Energy, Global Warming, Transportation