Hike It, Bike It: Celebrate Walk and Bike to School Day

Lauren Hassel Tweet us @WalkArlington @WalkArlington September 29, 2015 0 Comments

Lauren Hassel served as Safe Routes to School Coordinator with Arlington Public Schools from 2016-22, following eight years as Outreach and Promotions Manager with WalkArlington. These days, she is walking the talk by lending her community engagement experience to the Walking School Bus and other sustainable transportation-related initiatives.

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WALK TAKEAWAY:

Every October, International Walk and Bike to School Day encourages students from all over the globe to walk and bike to school.

Arlington students go back to school barely a month before Arlington Public Schools (APS) celebrate International Walk and Bike to School Day on the first Wednesday in October. As we’ve done for nearly a decade, WalkArlington and BikeArlington are partnering with APS to maximize awareness of and participation in the events.

Part of a month-long celebration every October, International Walk and Bike to School Day encourages students from all over the globe to walk and bike to school while educating them on the health and environmental benefits of walking and biking. It also raises community awareness about the importance of pedestrian safety education, safe routes to schools, well-maintained walkways, and traffic calming in neighborhoods and around schools. In addition, throughout the month of October, many APS staff and PTAs will incorporate activities focusing on walking and biking before, during, and after the school day.

kids safety patrol

Each year, APS highlights one school for its year-round efforts in promoting walking and bicycling.

For example, in 2015, Tuckahoe Elementary’s 600+ pre-school through 5th grade students walked (whether to the bus stop or all the way to school), rode a bike, took part in a walking school bus, or joined a bicycle train to commute to school. Once there, students and family members joined staff, faculty and special guests to unveil a new bike rack and kick off an on-campus celebration!

WalkArlington has developed an array of resources to support the participation of Tuckahoe and all other Arlington schools in Walk and Bike to School Day. From step-by-step tips to a Top 10 list of reasons to participate to a toolkit of downloadable, customizable resources, WalkArlington is making it easy for all Arlington students to try walking and biking to school every October (and beyond)! Check out our downloadable resources.

For more on Walk and Bike to School Day and ideas on how you can get involved, contact your school, send a message to info@walkarlington.com or visit walkbiketoschool.org.

 

This post was updated in October 2019. 

Photo Credit:

Sam Kittner/Kittner.com

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