How we used to walk to school

The streets of Dunedin were buzzing over the month of March as 48 schools within the city took part in the third ‘Walk n Wheel to School Week’. At the same time many of the student’s grandparents, parents and family members where doing a bit of reminiscing as they recalled stories of how they used to travel to school.

The “How we used to get to school” promotion, which ran in the Star community paper over five weeks, showcased stories from local people such as World Champion cyclist Alison Shanks, whose memories of getting to school are filled with bikes, bags and buses.  Dunedin City Mayor Peter Chin told of walks to school and trips on the crowded trams, Sport Otago CEO John Brimble remembered walking to school as a fun social occasion and Netball great Lois Muir who grew up in the country and biked to school daily.

80 stories were received by the Dunedin public telling of many different tales such as  getting to school in the 20s, stories from all over the world and stories of the issues students are facing getting to school into today’s car driven society.  At the same time the Walk n Wheel Week was a great success with 20 schools getting over 80% of their school roll walking or wheeling on Walk n Wheel to School Day.

The challenge now is for the schools to continue with Feet First and for student’s family members to support them in making the choice of using an active mode of transport to get to school.

Contact Bridget Smaill on bridget.smaill@dcc.govt.nz.