Walk to School Week
Moray pupils – and their families – will be striding out to celebrate Walk to School Week from 15-19 May.
Organised by the charity Living Streets, the five-day walking challenge is an annual celebration of the walk to school and aims to reverse the decline in children getting to their lessons on foot. A generation ago, 70% of primary school-aged children walked to school but now it’s around half.
Last year, over 750 schools across the UK took up the walking challenge, helping to put children well on their way to reaching their recommended 60 minutes minimum of physical activity per day before even reaching the school gates.
This year’s theme is Walk with Wildlife to encourage children to travel actively to school every day of the week as they learn about the important reasons to walk and the difference it can make for individuals, communities and the planet.
Our own Active Travel Strategy aims to build on the increase in walking and cycling in Moray over the next five years. The plan highlights the many positive benefits of active travel to both communities and individuals, including improving health, social inclusion, reducing the environmental impact of transport and supporting local economic activity.
With Moray being such a rural area, we know walking to school isn’t an option for everyone, but if you can, why not leave the car at home and get the whole family walking this week?