Let's Scoot to School! Resources for Your School to Encourage Active Travel

Sustrans have some great stuff to help parents and teachers encourage walking, cycling and scooting to school:

1. A recent initiative that might be of interest, perhaps for Eco-Club or wider group activities, is the Big Street Survey - in essence mini-travel-planning for pupils. 

It's a resource enabling pupils to investigate the area around their school and create a manifesto on how to make their streets safer and greener. Working both inside and outside the classroom, it is a two-hour curriculum activity where pupils explore what they like and dislike about their neighbourhood, before using their manifesto to lobby decision-makers and elected representatives at national and local level to make their changes happen.

Designed by a Sustrans schools officer and qualified Geography teacher, alongside other Sustrans education officers, it meets numerous curriculum objectives, with various cross-curriculum opportunities - there are lesson plans for each of the devolved nations. All the resources are free and available to download. It is targeted at year 6 pupils but is also suitable for year 5 and potentially year 7.

More details at www.sustrans.org.uk/freerangekids/get-involved/the-big-street-survey

2. Scooting is a great way to travel - faster than walking, lots of fun, and for many families easier than sorting out and storing bikes.

Again, Sustrans has some really useful stuff to help promote scooting for travel to school (and elsewhere!) with a online info on scooting to school and scooter parking:

See:
www.sustrans.org.uk/whatwe-do/safe-routes-to-schools/resources/infosheets

www.sustrans.org.uk/assets/files/free%20range%20kids/families/frk_ready_steady_scoot.pdf

Get Ready for Spring - Emerging from Hibernation

Now that the days are getting longer, and, hopefully milder, things are starting to happen again. There are various events now in the calendar - see below for some dates for you and your families: all events open to all.

- Saturday 16 March: Spokes stall at Edinburgh Farmers Market, 9.30-1.30, Castle Terrace.  Get your cycling maps for Edinburgh and the Lothians, and pick up a limited-edition Spokes-map buff as well as general info, factsheets, chat etc.

- Monday 8 April: Spokes public meeting, 6.45 (coffee and stall for maps, info etc) for 7.30pm.  Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh
Presentations and discussion on The Future of Local Transport. Main speaker Prof Iain Docherty, with special input on cycling from Jim Eadie MSP [Cross-Party cycling group] and Cllr Jim Orr [Edinburgh cycling supremo].  More info at on the Spokes website.

- Sunday 28 April - Innertube Postcode Challenge: a fun family day on North
Edinburgh path network. See www.elgt.org.uk for details.

- Sunday the 19th of May – Pedal on Parliament mass ride, 3pm from the Meadows along on an entirely traffic-free route down to Parliament.More details at pedalonparliament.org/news/

- Saturday 22 June: the first ever Edinburgh "Heels on Wheels" event, part of the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling! Meadows from 11am – 3pm.  An inclusive and educational event including activitiessuch as:

- Cycling stalls for info, maps etc; market stalls with ladies cycling gear.
- Representatives from Cycling clubs – many cycling clubs are actively trying to encourage women to join. A good opportunity for clubs to chat with interested women.
-   Mini-Cyclocross demonstration tbc

-Cake and coffee, Chocolate Tree with their cargo bike.
- ‘Best dressed’ competition. Categories include: best dressed bike, best most fashionable coordination of bike and rider, the ‘how does she do that?’ award (for most unlikely cycling outfit).

- Cycling instructors – teaching a novice to cycle

The organisers are looking for potential stallholders, as well as volunteer stewards to help run the day. Please do get in contact if you can help out. Contact www.edfoc.org.uk.