youth engagement & active transportation tools

CYCLING ACTIVITY

How Slow Can You Go? bike race

...have fun, engage a large crowd & raise the profile of bikes

This three-page resource (520kB) includes a description, sign-up sheet for 27 participants and photos of the event in very different circumstances.

The Slow Bike Race is a quick'n'easy event that you can pull together in a short amount of time and gain the attention of lots of people.

Enjoy!

CLASSROOM RESOURCE

Stepping It UP

Hear what elementary school students have to say about the benefits of being active on the trip to and from school. Watch the video "Stepping It Up video: Kids Say Walking to School Is Healthy, Fun and Good for the Environment" and download the eight-page Teacher's Guide  (developed by Arthur Orsini for Metrolinx).

This classroom resource includes five middle school/intermediate level activities in Drama, Media Literacy, Social Studies, Health & P.Ed., and Language Arts (723kB).

Download the resource from http://www.metrolinx.com/en/projectsandprograms/steppingitup/Teachers%20Guide.pdf

CLASSROOM RESOURCE

Walking Haiku

...becoming aware of how the weather, companions, birds & perceptions change from day to day on the walk to school

Walking Haiku (160Kb) is a two-page resource outling this activity that actually makes "walking to school" a homework assignment!

After a week of a morning Walking Haikus, the students were asked to reflect on the experience...

I was amazed to find how different I felt at school when I had walked in the morning. I found my mood had improved and I felt more alert and motivated to work, I also found myself noticing things I hadn't taken time to pay attention to before. (Ashlee)

The raindrops tickle my face

And the wind pinks my cheeks

The storm is a friend of mine.

Olivia

A construction site

Music blasting in my ears

It's easy to think.

Matthew

Ms. Kroker's - Gr. 12 English class

SCHOOL RESOURCE

WalkShed Maps

A ‘WalkShed’ is the name we use to group streets & trails sharing pedestrian access ways toward a common destination (i.e. a school, park, community centre, workplace, or shopping district). Similar to a collection of rivers and streams within a Watershed, the sidewalks and paths of a WalkShed join together toward a shared destination.

A colour-coded WalkShed map can help families identify friends and neighbours living along their shared walking routes. Families can be asked to pinpoint where they live, and use their WalkShed colour when making name-tags - both of which can serve as an ice-breaker between new families. Recognizing others within the same WalkShed zone is useful in beginning discussions that will strengthen a school’s sense of community. These acquaintances strengthen active school travel programs as they lead to informal walking groups, formalized Walking School Buses and possibly the shared task of walking one another’s young children to school.