ACROSS Australia and indeed, across the Goulburn Valley, more than 350,000 children took part in the National Ride2School Day.
Last Friday, more than 100 students from Bourchier Street Primary School took part in the day celebrating it by decorating their bikes in a colourful pageant and parading before the parents along with the Mayor of Greater Shepparton, Cr Kim O’Keeffe.
National Ride2School Day is Australia’s biggest celebration of active travel, with students from nearly 900 schools around Australia registered to participate.
Greater Shepparton City Council has been working with Ride2School since July 2020 on a number of local initiatives, including the Bourchier Street Primary School Ride2School event, which gave families the opportunity to participate in a bicycle parade and enjoy a breakfast of fresh fruit and juice.
Council has also developed ‘Safe Route Maps’ for 14 local primary schools, which include drop/park walk zones, supported by decals and stencil art along footpaths. Bourchier Street has been provided with a large copy of the safe route map and will also be gifted a fleet of 12 bikes thanks to a Ride2School grant.
The safe walking maps, along with activity sheets, bright activity cards and an activity log book, can be downloaded from the Get Mooving Shepparton website.
Greater Shepparton City Council director community, Kaye Thomson, said implementing Ride2School in Greater Shepparton has been a big community effort between Bourchier Street, local council, Ride2School and partners like Dr Cranky’s, to provide the resources, knowledge and support the region needs to get more students active, healthy and outdoors.
Ride2School encourages students to participate in physical activity and experience the subsequent health benefits. It has also been shown to help students increase confidence, improve performance at school, build resilience, feel more self-sufficient and develop a better awareness of road safety and the environment around them.
Schools and Councils can now register for National Ride2School Day at the Bicycle Network website: https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and-events/ride2school/ride2school-day/
