School Travel Planning Gets Children Moving

Focus is on walking and biking to school so students can get extra physical activity every day

SASKATOON, Nov. 16 /CNW/ - Green Communities Canada today announced that its School Travel Planning project is working with Saskatchewan in motion to support schools working to get children moving more. School Travel Planning supports two recent initiatives set forth by Saskatchewan's Ministry of Education - the Healthy Kids School Challenge and Inspiring Movement: Play Well, Learn Well, and Live Well. Both initiatives encourage children to participate in 30 minutes of daily physical activity and to eat healthy foods at school.

School Travel Planning works with community stakeholders like municipal decision makers, school district leaders, public health officials and police to create an environment where walking and biking to school is a viable choice for the greatest number of children possible.

"Only 15 per cent of Saskatchewan's children and youth achieve the recommended 60 to 90 minutes of daily physical activity they need to be healthy," says Manager, Community & Target Strategies at Saskatchewan in motion, Marnie Sinclair. "The School Travel Planning process can help them get more daily activity than can be provided within school hours, it supports lifelong active living and it contributes to academic achievement because children arrive alert and ready to take on the day."

In Saskatoon, School Travel Planning was successfully piloted during the 2009/10 school year at St. Edwards School. This school year, the pilot test will extend to 12 new schools across Saskatchewan. These schools will join over 100 others across the nation as part of Green Communities Canada's Children's Mobility, Health and Happiness project, which is funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer through its CLASP initiative, with additional funding support from the Public Health Agency of Canada. CLASP, which stands for Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention, unites coalitions of organizations across different jurisdictions and disease areas to collaborate on chronic disease prevention strategies.

"The School Travel Planning project is continuing to engage communities in healthy living activities that can help keep children and youth active and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, which can develop earlier in life, and cancer and heart disease, which generally occur later on," says Jon Kerner, PhD, the Partnership's senior scientific advisor and Chair of Primary Prevention. "This is an important success story of how regional health promotion programs can be expanded across Canada to benefit even more children and their families through collaborative efforts." 

School Travel Planning not only has the potential to increase children's physical activity, contribute to cleaner air in school neighbourhoods and cut down on traffic woes near schools; it could also make routes more passable for senior citizens, encourage parents to walk more, cut down on pollutants in residential neighbourhoods surrounding schools and reduce traffic on surface streets during peak hours. It's a win-win that has the potential to enhance Canadian communities and to improve the outlook for every Canadian school child.

About Green Communities Canada
Green Communities Canada is a national association of non-profit organizations that deliver innovative, practical environmental solutions to Canadian households and communities. For more information, visit www.saferoutestoschool.ca/schooltravel.asp.

About Saskatchewan in motion
Saskatchewan in motion is a province-wide movement aimed at increasing physical activity for health, social, environmental and economic benefits. For more information, visit http://www.saskatchewaninmotion.ca/.

About the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is an independent organization funded by the federal government to accelerate action on cancer control for all Canadians. For more information, visit partnershipagainstcancer.ca.

For further information:

Media Contact:

Julie Chabot Thoring, Communications Assistant, Saskatchewan in motion, 306.780.9847
[email protected]