Journeys made on foot, by bike and scooter during Sustrans Big Pedal event could have created 1,600kg of CO2 and 31kg of NOx if pupil’s journeys to school had been made in cars.
The walking and cycling charity Sustrans’ Big Pedal event saw over 4,900 children take part in Dorset between 19-30 April.
Sustrans Big Pedal, the UK’s largest walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting to school challenge saw school communities across Dorset complete over 29,000 active journeys to school and physical activities between 19-30 April.
During the competition, Dorset school children were physically active – walking, cycling, wheeling and scooting to school, and completing physical activities- for a total of nearly 280,000 minutes.
This follows data released by Sport England earlier this year that suggests there was a decline in the physical activity levels of children due to the pandemic, with almost a third of children in England engaging in less than 30 minutes of daily physical activity in the 2019 – 2020 academic year.
If the children taking active journeys during Sustrans Big Pedal had travelled to school by car instead, this could have created 1,600kg of CO2 and 31kg of NOx. That’s enough to fill 590,000 party balloons with harmful CO2 emissions.
This follows a YouGov survey commissioned by Sustrans and published in April which showed:
- Just under half (49%) of UK children worry about air pollution near their school.
- 40% of UK children believe the best way to bring down levels of air pollution near their schools is for more people to walk, cycle or scoot to school.
Speaking about the results of the Big Pedal competition, James Cleeton, Director for south of England at Sustrans said, “It’s great to see how many journeys were made walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling in Dorset during Big Pedal.
“This year, perhaps more than ever, it has been brilliant to see so many people enjoying their active journeys to school. Being able to make the Big Pedal happen again despite the pandemic has been truly great.
“The results of our recent YouGov survey show just how concerned children are about air pollution in their local area. As adults we should be doing more to make it easier for them, and us, to travel actively for everyday journeys like the school run.
“Sustrans is calling for national and local governments to prioritise high quality walking and cycling routes and to accelerate the roll out of school streets.”
Councillor Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment said, “I was delighted to hear about the success of this year’s Sustrans Big Pedal competition and want to thank everyone involved.
A major part of our Climate and Ecological Emergency strategy and action plan is to encourage and support more people to get out of cars and use more sustainable forms of transport, especially active travel.
Dorset’s school children represent the future of our beautiful county and it’s wonderful to see so many helping to tackle Climate and Ecological change by reducing harmful carbon emissions, as well as improve their health and well-being. Well done!”
For more information and a list of the overall winners.
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