Monday September 13, 2010
In this issue:
Walk to School Month is Coming in October
October is International Walk to School Month. Schools and groups can register online and qualify for some great prize draws including:
• A classroom pedometer kit donated by Heart&Stroke Walkabout
• A bike donated by Cyclesmith of Halifax to give away to a lucky bike-minded student
• A set of 4 helmets to give away to more lucky bike-minded students (3 schools)
• Enough I Walk to School stickers for all the students in your school (10 schools)
Register now. Registered schools receive an Organizer’s Kit with great event ideas as well as posters to help promote the event. Walk to School Month is a project of Active & Safe Routes to School, coordinated by the Ecology Action Center in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection as part of the Active Kids Healthy Kids Initiative.
back to top 
Skate Pass® Skateboarding Training Session in HRM October 22
Learn the Making Tracks Skate Pass® program to offer children at your school, community centre or recreation centre. Aimed at recreation/community centre staff, teachers or potential high school aged youth mentors, the session will take place at the Citadel Community Centre from 1 to 5 pm on October 22. For more information or to register please contact Jennifer McGowan, Community Advisor, Active & Safe Routes to School at 442-5055 or by email.
back to top
Youth in Action Active Transportation Videos
Youth In Action is a project which emerged from the Glace Bay Youth Action Committee (GBYAC), a local youth-based community group. This venture began with the GBYAC’s interest in creating community awareness of and action on active transportation (AT). Using dramatic presentation as their foundation, the youth created two short films and a stage production directed towards a junior-high audience. The idea was to introduce their audience to active transportation from a youth perspective; in other words, why they chose AT over other modes of travel.
There were eight successful presentations made across Nova Scotia. Although the production was intended for junior highs, it was also shown to adults (Changing Gears workshop), to children (Bridgeport Elementary), to older youth (Holy Angels High School), as well as environmental organizations and local youth groups. To see the videos check out:
During a trip to Fredericton last fall to research active transportation for the Youth In Action project, the youth had the idea to include videos in their presentation when they went to the Silver Wave Film festival in the New Brunswick capital. This year, their two films have been accepted into the festival and will be shown there this November. Congratulations to the GBYAC (AKA: The Action League)!
For more information, join their Facebook site at The Action League.
back to top
HRM Bike to School Day Success
By Gerard Bray, former Sport Animator, Halifax Regional School Board
Congratulations to all schools who took part in School Bike Day 2010. There were a grand total of 16 schools and 1107 students who took part. Many teachers, parents and younger siblings also took part in the ride. Many of the schools added a Bike Safety Rodeo to the festivities at their school. Thank you to the Halifax Regional Police who offered Bike Rodeo’s for two of our Elementary Schools, thank you to MEC for their donation of $500 worth of gift certificates as prizes, thank you HRM for the donation of a Bike Rack to our Winning School and thank you to all who took part. Now for the School Bike Day Prize Winners:
- 1st Prize: Bike Rack for Winning School: Shatford Memorial with 90% Participation! Runner Up: Crichton Park Elementary with 85% Participation.
- 2nd Prize: 20 x $25 Gift Certificate from Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC): Crichton Park Elementary (4 Winners); Shatford Memorial (1 Winner); Lockview High School (1 Winner); Hawthorn Elementary (2 Winners); St. Catherine’s Elementary (2 Winners); Oxford School (1 Winner); Inglis Street Elementary (1 Winner); Sackville Heights Junior High (2 Winners); Grosvenor Wentworth (1 Winner); Gaetz Brook Jr. High (1 Winner); Sheet Harbour Consolidated (1 Winner); Gertrude Parker (1 Winner); Clayton Park Jr. High (1 Winner); St. Stephens Elementary (1Winner).
back to top
Upcoming Events
Otesha Fall Tour Fredericton to Halifax: September 7 – November 2
From September 7 to November 2, the Otesha Project will cycle from New Brunswick to PEI to Nova Scotia while delivering a play on environmental and social justice issues to schools and other community groups.
Take Me Outside Week: September 20 - 26, 2010
Register now for Take Me Outside Week in Nova Scotia from September 20 to 26. FAMILIES AND SMALL GROUPS can register the activities they plan to do during the event week. At the same time they qualify to WIN one of many great experiences. ORGANIZATIONS can register their activities and events during the event week as well.
Canadian Tire’s Ride for Jumpstart: September 8-12
Canadian Tire Jumpstart's "The Ride for Jumpstart" is a 1,000 km five day fundraising bike ride across eastern Canada. The goal is to raise $75,000.00 for the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program, which will help financially challenged children get involved in organized sport and recreation. The Maritime Bike tour launch will be held in Sydney on September 8.
Find the latest child and youth active transportation-related events and happenings here.
back to top
New Poll Connects Health Promotion, the Environment & AT
By Christina MacLeod, Policy and Government Relations Coordinator, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia recently asked Nova Scotians about their thoughts on government spending priorities during this time of fiscal restraint. The poll, conducted by Corporate Research Associates, found that, of those surveyed, 87 per cent supported an increase in government funding for health promotion strategies such as the development of walking trials and biking paths across the province.
Active transportation (AT) has been gaining in popularity as many municipalities and communities have been taking the charge and creating active transportation plans and strategies. Whether it meets greenhouse gas reduction targets or gets citizens healthier – it is a key pillar to creating a sustainable province. And Nova Scotians are in support. That’s not all.
Those surveyed were also asked about their support for the provincial Department of Health Promotion and Protection, which was established in 2006 to, among other things, help address the high rates of chronic disease in the province. Overwhelmingly, with 84 per cent support, respondents were in favour of the continued funding for this department.
For Nova Scotia to be sustainable we need to address our levels of chronic disease – some of the highest rates in the country. Only then can we ensure that the government can afford to keep our residents and our environment healthy.
back to top
Sogo Active Youth Contest: Can you fill these shoes?
This is an opportunity for youth to become Sogo Active Ambassadors. In 2010, Sogo Active
is putting the inactivity crisis on the shoulders of teen leaders to fix! From August 6 to November 26 2010, all Canadian teens aged 13 to 18 years are eligible to be chosen as 1 of 12 Sogo Active Ambassadors, giving them the opportunity to work with Sogo Active to promote physical activity to their peers across the country. As Ambassadors, these youth will also be rewarded with some amazing prizes from Coca-Cola, adidas and Sport Chek. To enter, youth register for Sogo Active, create and upload their own ongoing Challenge and then get as many friends as they can to join it. Visit www.sogoactive.com for contest rules.
back to top
Studies Supportive of Active School Travel
Walking/Cycling to School = Higher Physical Activity Levels
The Research File: Safe and Active Routes to School: Promoting Active Commuting among Children and Youth
Walking to School Reduces Stress
Effect of a Simulated Active Commute to School on Cardiovascular Stress Reactivity
Active Commuting to School Impacts on Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity
The impact of additional weekdays of active commuting to school on children achieving a criterion of 300+ minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity
back to top
Neat Resources
Changing Gears Report Now Available
Changing Gears: Increasing Young People Cycling in Nova Scotia was a workshop held in March 2010 and attended by stakeholders with an interest in youth cycling. The final report is now online.
Upcoming Active School Travel Webinars
- School Travel Planning and Sustainable Happiness - Links to Individual, Community and Global Well-being on September 9 (reserve a spot)
- Student Engagement and Teacher Champions – for School Travel Planning in Elementary and Middle schools on September 28 (reserve a spot)
- Overcoming the Barriers to Sustainability on October 20 (reserve a spot)
Canadian School Travel Planning Spring 2010 Newsletter
Check out the latest newsletter on School Travel Planning across Canada. Nova Scotia is part of this national project.
Active Transportation in Canada Report
The State of Active Transportation in Canada: an overview highlights Active & Safe Routes to School in Nova Scotia as a provincial success.
New England and Eastern Canada Resolution Sites Active Transportation
Resolution 34-2 - Resolution concerning Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation Sources
Resources from the US-Based Safe Routes to School National Partnership
back to top
Highlights from twitter.com/asrts
- Article: Westmount Elementary School participates in a pilot program designed to encourage students to think safe http://bit.ly/cFJXSK
- RT @kaboom: The nature deficit in education & how kids would benefit from more time to #playoutdoors: http://bit.ly/arQoQ1
- Want to get your kids more active? Start cycling & lead by example: take a CAN-Bike Course in Sydney in Oct. http://bit.ly/bWFRXa
- RT @SafeRoutesNow: RT @railstotrails New study confirms intuition: Walkable, bikable places have lower obesity rates. http://fb.me/sVM4IIbu
- RT @FreeRangeKids: I've got Jason Mraz on my site! (Ok, in a Sesame Street vid, singing, "Outdoors" to "I'm Yours.") http://bit.ly/axdMan
- Truro launches Pace Car, an anti-speeding program, at Victoria Park from 10 am to 3 pm http://bit.ly/dtdcNH
back to top
About Active & Safe Routes to School
Active & Safe Routes to School in Nova Scotia encourages more children, youth and their families to use active transportation - such as walking and cycling - for the environment, physical activity and traffic safety. It is coordinated in Nova Scotia by the Ecology Action Centre
in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection as part of the Active Kids Healthy Kids Initiative.
Active & Safe Routes to School
www.saferoutesns.ca
www.twitter.com/asrts
asrts@ecologyaction.ca
Tel: (902) 442-5055
Fax: (902) 405-3716
Ecology Action Centre
2705 Fern Lane, Halifax, NS B3K 4L3
back to top
|
