Event Ideas
Schools around the world are celebrating Walk to School for the entire month of October in order to include as many schools as possible. Sometimes Walk to School Day falls on a holiday or during a school break, hence the plans to expand the opportunity for communities to plan Walk to School activities.
Whether a community plans to participate for a day, week, the month of October or all year long, the ideas below can help communities plan the best Walk to School activities.
- Classroom activities
- Encourage walking and bicycling by incorporating related topics into classes.
- Walkability and bikeability checklists
- Use the checklist to involve parents, students and community members and raise visibility for safety concerns.
- Sponsors
- Experienced event planners have had success obtaining refreshment donations from local grocery stores. There are other businesses and groups to contact as well.
- Signs for the walk
- Signs carried by walkers increase visibility of an event for media and community members.
- Partnerships
- Work with other groups that care about kids being able to safely bike and walk to school.
- Promote the event
- Making announcements at school, publishing school newsletter articles, developing signs and sending flyers home are just a few ways to get the word out.
- Walking school bus
- Walking school buses are groups of children who walk designated routes to school under adult supervision, picking up kids along the way just like a bus.
- Walk to school parade
- Invite elected officials, parents and children to meet in a specific neighborhood or several different neighborhoods at a designated point and walk to school together.
- Walk at school
- Specific recess, physical education or class time can be dedicated to getting out and walking together.
- School-based welcome
- Greet walkers with stickers, gifts and refreshments, and plan an event that involves public officials and possibly the media.
- Log miles walked
- Have students keep track of all the miles they walk or bike to school or during school hours to earn prizes and work towards a school-wide goal.
