Lights! Camera! Action!
Active school travel is taking centre stage thanks to Manitoba in motion and their series of commercials and public announcements, including ideas such as Walking School Buses. To watch the in motion ads, please visit their website.
Happy Feet, Healthy Hearts We’re excited to announce our new technology based mapping project just received a grant from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba. Through this project, we’re developping an IPad/IPhone app to help families, schools and communities identify and improve their priority routes to school.
All Paths Lead to Westwood School We love the simplicity with which Thompson’s Westwood School created a Walking School Bus, as part of their IWALK activities this year.  It’s great to hear about what ideas schools use.

 


If you have one to share with us, we’d be happy to hear about it!

Southdale Trail Opening Up
Students in Southdale have a better way to get to school, now that a new trail is being built. Earlier this summer, the Province committed $720,000 towards a new bike and pedestrian trail from Bishop Grandin to Beaverhill Boulevard. This safer path will let students travel easily between their homes and schools in the area.

Contact Us Reach the Active and Safe Routes to School in Manitoba program team at

(204) 925-3773
asrts@greenactioncentre.ca

If you like what you read, become a member of Green Action Centre (membership is free!), visit our website at greenactioncentre.ca or make a donation.

IWALK 2011 Got Students Moving

Thousands of Manitoba children joined youth all over the world in participating in International Walk to School Month this October.  Locally, Maple Leaf School was the flagship school for IWALK Day, as students, teachers, parents, school trustees and even a few dogs joined the fun that warm October morning.  Shaw TV came by and walked with the kids while covering the event.With nearly 80 schools participating during the month, once more this event proves it’s cool to walk to school! Congratulations to Mulvey School for the highest number of walking and biking kids. And many thanks to our prize sponsors for this event:  Natural Cycle, Fort Whyte Alive, YMCA-YWCA (Downtown Winnipeg), Manitoba Healthy Schools InMotion, Vita Health and Canada Safeway (Henderson).

After the School Bell Rings
Our partnership with Recreation Connections Manitoba is off to a great start and currently being piloted in a half dozen communities around Manitoba. One of these, Marlene Street Resource Centre is very active in making improvements including:

  • building skateboard storage
  • installed bike rack
  • held community open house with 100 parents and children, where they voiced concerns about safety and traffic calming
  • involved with Walking School Bus at neighbouring school (Lavalee)

School Travel Planning Facilitator Training
Momentum around School Travel Planning (STP) is growing, and we recently completed development of our STP Facilitator Training Program.  The STP Facilitator is the person who brings all community stakeholders together and guides the STP process.

We invite Manitoba communities to host free STP Training workshops for interested individuals including their designated STP facilitator. A number of workshops are slated for the new year, including Eastern Manitoba (Pinawa), Western Manitoba  (Brandon), and Northern Manitoba (Thompson).  Green Action Centre is available for additional workshops upon communities’ request.


Waterloo Region District School Board adopts AT Charter
Earlier this year, both Waterloo Region District School Board and the Catholic Region District School Board signed a Charter recognizing the importance of active school transportation. The Charter is a formal recognition of the value of active transportation, and can be used in the developmental stages of infrastructure actions, as well as influence policy changes.

The Charter can be influential by guiding students, staff, parents and boards to consider how activities, and decisions could encourage active transportation.