WALKING BUS
80 pupils at St. Malachy’s Girls’ National School who were on the Walking Bus from Tesco extra to the School on Anne Street. Photo: Aidan Dullaghan/ Newspics.
ST Malachy Girls are currently on the second year of the Green Schools Travel Flag which they hope to be awarded at the end of the year.
In February every year, Green Schools Ireland launch a nationwide Big Travel Challenge to encourage schools to increase sustainable transport for ten days in February. ‘We have to increase one mode of sustainable transport. We chose Park ‘n’ Stride as a number of pupils in our school come to school by car each morning’ explained teacher Michelle Duffy.
‘Simultaneously to the Big Travel Challenge, we entered the SEAI OneGoodIdea competition in November. We set up a committee of pupils in 4th and 5th classes to come up with one good idea to save energy. As we were working on the Travel Flag we decided that a walking bus would be a good idea to set up. We submitted our application and SEAI loved the idea and put us through to the national semi finals’.
‘ This meant we had to move from having the idea of a walking bus to actually setting it up’.
Fifth class pupils helped design and create the front and back of the bus. Fourth class pupils came up with a song and made posters to inform parents and pupils about the bus.
‘We got the bus up and running on Thursday, February 7. We started out with about 80 pupils and we’ve maintained our numbers between 65 and 85 each day’.
Pupils can use the bus everyday or some of the days. They meet at the post box in Tesco’s Car Park between 8:30 and 8:50 each morning.
‘We travel along the zebra crossing in the car park, past McDonald’s, crossing at the auctioneers. We cross at the traffic lights to go up Vincent Avenue, down Wynne’s Terrace and up to the lollipop man to cross Anne Street to school. It’s a 1/2 km walk each morning’.
‘Pupils love meeting their friends in the morning and walking to school. There is great camaraderie on the bus and it puts everyone in good spirits. We’ll be stopping for the midterm and will have three days after the midterm to finish off the Big Travel Challenge. Due to popular demand we will continue with the bus on our WOW ( Walk on Wednesday) days each week’, conclude Michelle Duffy.