Walk to School Week 2008 - Michael Connarty MP helps make a noise about walking to school

Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency will be a much more pleasant place to be in rush hour when local primary school children take part in Walk to School Week [12â€“16 May 2008]. Michael is supporting locals taking part in this hugely successful, UK-wide campaign to get families to leave their cars at home and walk to school.

This year, pupils will be exploring the local environment through sound and finding out just how much experience gets missed each day by being cocooned in cars – whether that’s the tweeting of birds, the clip clopping of shoes or the sound of their friends’ voices. It is also an opportunity to highlight the benefits of children getting to know their communities through walking to school.

Michael said “Walking to school, or work, can be fun. As an ex- teacher I know pupils who get to 'stretch their legs' by walking are already alert and ready to study. Parents can make it interesting by making it a learning experience, teaching the Green Cross Code or noting birds, flowers and trees along the way. I am up for it, and urge parents to join in and have some fun too!”

Tony Armstrong, chief executive of Living Streets (the charity which organises Walk to School Week) said: “Fuel prices going up is a chance for us all to examine how reliant we’ve become on our cars. As a nation, we’re getting lazier by the decade and now grab the car keys for one in five journeys less than a mile. The school run is a particular offender – it’s short, stop-start journeys like this that use the most fuel and cause the most pollution.” Walk to School Week is a firm feature in the academic calendar and this year it’s an opportunity to make some noise about how important the journey to school is. Similar events will be held throughout the country, ensuring the message gets out all over the UK.