Sunshine Coast Council
Nearly half a million Aussie students will strap on helmets and pedal, scoot or skate to school this Friday to celebrate National Ride2School Day.
If you haven't registered yet, there's still time and by doing so before 5pm on Friday March 22 you'll be in the draw to win terrific prizes, including bike shop voucers valued at $500, $200 and $100.
Riding to school is a great fun way to get active and healthy. It helps to reduce traffic around schools which is great for the environment. So pump up those types and get pedalling!
Click here to register now for 2019 National Ride2School Day.
What is active travel? Active travel is when you leave the car at home and instead use physical activity such as riding a bike, a scooter or a skateboard OR walking.
Active travel to school is good for our school community because:
- riding and walking is exercise, and exercise is essential for good health
- riding and walking gets our blood pumping and makes us feel more alert and energised
- riding and walking means there are less cars travelling around our school, which makes our local streets safer.
Active school travel in Australia, fast facts:
- Physical activity is essential to children's health and wellbeing.
- Over 70% of children and 91.5% of young people are not doing enough physical activity for good health.
- Children and young people should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day. (Australian Government Department of Health. Australia's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines. 2017)
- Active travel to school is the easiest way to help children to reach their daily physical activity guidelines.
- There is strong evidence that in young people, as physical activity increases academic performances improves.
- 70% of primary school children are driven to school
- Active school travel has become the exception rather than the norm
- Forty years ago, about 75% of children walked or cycled to school, and only 25% were driven or used other means of transport. Today, more than 70% of primary school children are driven to and from school every day.
- Barriers to active travel for children include:
- Parents and carers are concerned about safety and 'stranger danger' and other hazards, even though the evidence does not suggest increased risk.
- Parental concerns about road safety.
- Some parents have less time to accompany children on active journeys to school, as they juggle work responsibilities and family life.
- Many children prefer to walk or cycle to school, but parents' attitudes around safety and environmental factors influence their decisions to allow their children to be active school travellers.
