Making strides for sustainability

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7 November 2024

Students at St Paul’s School, Coburg are taking part in the Merri-bek City Council ‘Ride & Stride’ program after a successful application by their Sustainability Leader.

‘Ride & Stride’ is an innovative behaviour change program designed to get more kids riding, striding and scooting to school. By developing and fostering a culture of healthy, active travel in young people, the program hopes to drive generational change towards a safer, more sustainable transport network in Merri-bek.

students taking part in the Ride & Stride program students taking part in the Ride & Stride program

‘Our enthusiastic students are very excited about participating in this innovative and sustainable program,’ says principal Maria Mercuri.

‘We’re proud to be one of five primary schools taking part in the program.’

Using Bluetooth tokens, students ‘tag on’ at a touchscreen kiosk each morning and select how they travelled to school that day. This earns students points for their house and extra points towards their personal ‘active travel’ tally. Importantly, parents can also choose to receive an instant email notification that their child has arrived safely the moment their child tags on.

The Merri-bek City Council program also provides schools with cycle training for children, safe routes to school mapping and road safety incursions.

students taking part in the Ride & Stride program students taking part in the Ride & Stride program