So far this school year, GreenTown Los Altos has supported and participated in several Walk or Wheel! (WoW!) events at local schools, working with PTA representatives to encourage students to walk or bike to school instead of arriving by car. WoW! events help remind kids and their families about the benefits of WoW!ing (walking or wheeling) to school, how to do so safely, and just how fun it can be!
There are lots of reasons to WoW! to school and here are just a few:
It's really good for the planet. Transportation, primarily in fossil-fuel powered cars, accounts for more than half of Los Altos' and Los Altos Hills' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Walking or biking to school directly contributes to reducing our communities' impacts on climate change. Plus, it results in fewer toxic air emissions in the parking drop-off areas of our schools and in our communities.
It reduces traffic around schools. Parents notice this on WoW! days, and it makes it safer for our kids to bike and walk. That's a win-win.
It's good for the body and mind. Biking and walking to school considerably increases concentration during school hours, according to a Danish study of nearly 20,000 students.
And it's fun, too! Walking and biking are simply fun ways to get to school and connect with friends and family.
Plus, Los Altos' flat geography and mild climate make it ideal for walking and biking all year round.
Our programs to encourage walking and biking have had a significant impact on student behavior. The number of students using alternative modes for school has increased considerably since we started this work in 2009. Most schools now have a WoW! (or Traffic Safety) coordinator on the PTA and share GreenTown's vision of more kids walking and biking to school. And it's paying dividends with older students, too. Over the years, more and more bike racks have been added at Los Altos High School owing to an increase in student demand.
Here's a snapshot of the elementary schools we are working with. Please email us at info@greentownlosaltos.org to let us know if you'd like to connect and build a WoW! program at your school.
Gardner Bullis Elementary's WoW! Co-Chairs, Nick and Melissa French, do an amazing job engaging kids in walking and biking at their WoW! events. These high-energy events, replete with a finish line, a treats table, and, of course, the GreenTown blender bike, result in kids that are truly thrilled to have walked or biked to school. Participation in these events is over the top with some classrooms boasting more than 90% of kids walking and biking to school.
Oak Avenue Elementary School's Principal Nikita Shah rolls up her shirtsleeves, along with several parent volunteers, to get the kids excited about WoW!ing to school. Students from one grade have the privilege of tallying which grade participated the most during Oak's WoW! days. On our most recent visit to Oak, the cold January day didn't stop the intrepid students from biking or walking, although they appreciated the hot cocoa that GreenTown brought that day!
GreenTown also works with Almond Elementary, which regularly holds two WoW! events - one on Walk to School Day in October and the other around Bike to School Day in May. For Almond's Walk to School Day WoW!, GreenTown brought out the blender bike and the Almond Eagle mascot took pictures with the kids. One Almond parent commented that there are noticeably fewer cars on WoW! days. More kids biking and walking means less traffic congestion at school, and less traffic congestion means greater safety for our kids!
Bullis Charter School runs a monthly WoW! event at each campus. GreenTown supplies them with stickers and pencils to incentivize kids who walk or bike to school, and they consistently count each student who WoW!s to school.
Springer Elementary is just launching its WoW! program, spearheaded by GreenTown's newest Board member, Madhuri Davidson. We're looking forward to getting Springer students excited about walking and biking this Spring!
Learn more about the WoW! program
If you would like to learn more about the WoW! program and how to make it work at your school, contact us at info@greentownlosaltos.org.
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