Local MP helps make a noise about walking to school

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th May 2008

Malcolm Bruce MP is hoping rush hour won't be quite so rushed when local primary school children take part in Walk to School Week [12-16 May 2008]

Mr Bruce 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 where possible. This year, the campaign aims to get pupils to explore their local environment through sound and finding out just how much experience gets missed each day by being cocooned in cars.

Malcolm Bruce said:

"I hope that a lot of families in Gordon will be able to plan a break from the school-run routine and encourage their children to feel the many benefits of walking to school.

"By walking children will not only get additional exercise, but they will also have the opportunity to reconnect with their local environment and community. While taking in some fresh air, they can also benefit from additional quality time for chatting to family and friends during the walk, without having to deal with the stress of rush hour traffic."

Tony Armstrong, chief executive of Living Streets (the charity which organises Walk to School Week) added:

"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."

ENDS

Notes to editors

Across the UK:

-The number of children travelling to school by car over the past 20 years has doubled. (Dept for Transport)

-Cars consume most fuel and pollute more at the start of their journey when the engine is cold, therefore, walking for short journeys will reduce the amount of CO2 emissions by a disproportionate amount. (Institute for European and Environmental Policy, 2007)

-The average drive to primary school and back produces enough carbon dioxide to inflate 60 balloons.

-Nearly 30% of children aged two to 15 were classed as overweight or obese in 2006. (Dept of Health)

Further information

-Living Streets (in conjunction with ACT TravelWise) runs the Walk to School campaign, with funding from the Department for Transport and Transport for London and has an additional office in Edinburgh.

For more information about the national UK campaign, visit www.walktoschool.org.uk

Related Link:

Walk to School .