More school kids going greener

Monday 03 October 2016

There’s likely to be more children on the roads over the next couple of weeks as you head off to work.

Green Travel Fortnight starts today and even more youngsters are being encouraged to get out of the car and think of other ‘greener’ ways of getting to and from school.

Organisers hope that at least 30 schools will take part this year, five more than last year and there's a recycled scooter pod up for grabs for the greenest primary school this time around so they'll have a place to store all the mini scooters during lessons.

Youngsters will be recording all their green travel on big classroom wall charts featuring last year's winning super hero names "Car-no-more-Boy" and "Exercise Girl".

Meanwhile the Island's teenagers will be clocking up points on their way to and from school and those who get the most over the next ten days will be in with a chance of winning a week's free bus travel. They need to get 30 altogether to be entered into the prize draw and three points up for grabs for walking or cycling, two points for catching the bus and one point if they car share.

Infrastructure Minister Eddie Noel said: “Green Travel Fortnight is an annual schools campaign raising awareness about the benefits of green travel. We have seen improvements year on year to encourage more participation and more green travel to school. The Fortnight ties in well with car2cycle, which promotes the use of electric bikes and overall more cycling in Jersey.”   

Deputy Richard Rondel says he’s already feeling the benefits of switching to two wheels.

He said: “Like a number of new E bike owners I have spoken with, I am thrilled with my E bike. It has replaced trips that might have involved the car previously, and I can explore our beautiful Island more now that hills are no longer a barrier. I feel my fitness improving and I guess you could say I’m now a hill seeker!”

Eco active Programme Manager Jane Burns said: “This is the sixth year that we are organising the Fortnight. The environment department is particularly keen to meet our energy plan targets so we are encouraging schools to focus on green travel to reduce their carbon emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement, which is a global commitment. Good luck to all schools.”