Walking school buses are a fun, safe and active way for children to travel to and from school with adult supervision – one that even the youngest children can enjoy.
Sadie’s a parent making a difference to how the children of Canterbury’s Darfield Primary get to and from school. Sadie and other parents have got together to run a walking school bus.
The children of Darfield Primary live in five different areas of the town which has been a challenge for the coordinators of the programme. However it has been going strong for over a year now. The school, with help from the Selwyn District council, has provided all of its 245 children with safety vests. It’s now looking for local businesses to help fund them.
Sadie has noticed an improvement in the number of children participating since the programme began. “I think people are becoming more aware of how quickly they can get to school by walking. They realise it probably only takes 15 minutes. A lot of children are also biking, or scootering,” she says.
The numbers of children participating drops as the cold and dark of winter sets in, but Sadie is hopeful it will be kept up, even for just one or two days a week. “Last year even when the ground was covered in snow, the children just rugged up and put on their gumboots.”
For further information on the benefits of a walking school bus and similar initiatives go to:
- The New Zealand Transport Agency's website
- Feet First: a New Zealand Transport Agency programme aimed at increasing the number of children walking to school as walking benefits people and their environment.
