More schools encouraged to get movin' in March

As Greater Wellington’s month-long initiative encouraging students to walk, cycle or scoot to school moves ever closer, schools are being reminded there is still time to register.

Greater Wellington Transport Committee Chair and Regional Councillor, Roger Blakeley says, “Every year we see an incredible turn out for Movin’March which is great for our strategic objectives around increasing mode share for walking and cycling and reducing transport generated carbon emissions.

Even with schools being understandably cautious about COVID, registrations numbers have still been high which is great to see. It’s also testament to the programme’s activities which can be done safely within their local area and with their own whānau”.

Greater Wellington Regional Council travel choice advisor Kirsty Barr excitedly announced that the total is poised to match and hopefully surpass last year’s record 62% participation rate from primary schools across the region.

“With a little over a week to go, we’ve had an epic 127 schools signed up for 2022. That’s potentially over 35,000 students taking part!”

“To encourage participation, we’re also running a number of challenges focusing on motivating families to walk and wheel to school and sharing their journey experiences through social media added Barr.

Prizes up for grabs play a role in helping students form long lasting habits beyond March with $400 MYRIDE vouchers (x12), Micro Scooters (x5) but also offer something for the whole whānau with Family Passes to Staglands and Zealandia (x10). 

Forming strong habits has wider benefits, not only for students’ physical and mental wellbeing, but for their broader understanding of sustainable travel and the benefit for our planet. 

Teachers can access resources like walkability checklists, carbon calculators and journey mapping activities that help tamariki explore environmental themes and join the dots between bigger picture issues and travel choice,” said Barr.

“We’ve seen students at registered schools express their desire to take part for the betterment of the climate so we’ve taken the lead with key resources such as Active Travel Action”.

Participating schools will also be given the opportunity to take part in a Waka Kotahi pilot, Te Haerenga o Ngā Tamariki, which enables classes to anonymously track travel habits over time and generate further discussion about transport, health, and sustainability. 

Interested schools can sign up for Movin’March until Tuesday 1 March by visiting the Movin'March website.