Parkfield Primary School launch eco project by encouraging pupils to walk to school

Parkfield Primary School have launched an eco-project to encourage children to walk to school

2 More Image(s) In Gallery

Parkfield Primary School in Middleton has launched an eco project this month in conjunction with UK charity ‘Living Streets’ ambition of every child who can walking to school.

Throughout the school year, each pupil at Parkfield is encouraged to walk to school at least once per week. Every child will receive a badge if they walk to school at least once per week for a month.

Fitting in with the Middleton school’s pledge to recycle as much as possible, the badges are created from recycled yoghurt pots. Parents can then scan the badge through the interactive WOW app, showing a visual and audible journey throughout the Americas, unlocking interesting and fascinating facts and the animals and culture.

The Eco team have already taken baseline data and will be looking to see how they can make changes by encouraging everyone to take part. The data showed that in Key Stage 2 where the project is starting out, 55 people come to school in cars, 57 walk to school, three children cycle, two come to school on scooters and five children come on the bus.

Over the coming months, the students will be looking to see if they can reduce the amount of traffic outside the school in the morning, the positive effects of reducing pollution through less traffic, the health benefits of walking and how this can improve other areas of wellbeing.

Parkfield are hoping to see a reduction of at least 10% in the number of cars at school and would like to see an increase in the number of children who say they feel happier when they walk to school after chatting to parents and friends along the way.

For children who live quite a distance from school, they can still can earn their badge by getting their parents to ‘park and stride’: park at least a five or ten-minute walk from school and walk the rest of the way. You can also earn badges by cycling or scooting to school.

Each member of the class enters their daily data onto an iPad, with badges being awarded at the end of the month: the first set are to be handed out on Friday (29 September).

School business manager Karen Bracken said: “We have calculated that if you currently came just one mile to school and home again in a car and changed to walking, you alone would save over one ton of carbon dioxide per year, so this tells us that this project is very worthwhile.

“I am so very proud of the Eco team, both current and past Eco representatives at Parkfield have took part in some amazing work. The children have created a thriving Eco school, with everyone on board and we are just in the process of applying to become a Green Flag School, which will be a fitting reward for all their hard work.”

Parkfield Primary has also been extended work around the project by linking with the Mikoroshoni School in Kenya, who are going to tell them about their walk to school, how long it takes and what kind of things they might see along the way.

Parkfield is sending photos of their pupils walking to school, alternative forms of transport and some of the buildings in Middleton they pass on the way to school and then hope to compare their information with Kenyan school.

The project will run until July 2018.