The Green-Schools Travel Competition is now open and we would like to invite your school to take part in The Big Travel Challenge by promoting a sustainable mode of transport of your choice in the month of February. If your school is up for the challenge, we want to hear from you!
What are we looking for? Schools big and small, rural and urban, primary, secondary and education centres that will take on the challenge of achieving a measurable increase in one of the following sustainable modes of travel: walking, cycling, scooting, park ‘n’ stride, carpooling, or the bus.
We are asking schools to promote their chosen greener mode of travel for any 10-day period for the month of February 2023 (Wednesday 1 – Tuesday 28) and to record their results. Many schools will have mid-term in February, so feel free to start in the final week of January, or to run into March if needed!
Is your school up for The BIG TRAVEL Challenge?
You can find a poster (in English and Gaeilge) for your school as well as the tracker sheet and application forms in the links below. You can use your tracker to record the total number of students in your school travelling by your chosen mode on each day of the challenge. At the end of the challenge, fill in the online application form and tell us how you promoted your chosen mode and why your school deserves to win The Big Travel Challenge. You will need to let us know the number of students travelling by your chosen mode on an average day before the challenge started and on Day 1, Day 5 and Day 10 during the challenge. Awards may be made in each travel category (walking, cycling, scooting, park ‘n’ stride, carpooling and bus). The competition is open to all schools that have participated, or are participating, in the Green-Schools Travel and Global Citizenship Travel themes.
How will your school be judged?
Your school will be judged on the innovation and creativity in promoting your chosen mode in your school along with the change in the number of students using the mode of travel you promote during the challenge; we’ll take everything into account.
What are the prizes?
The overall winning school will receive a cash prize of €1000 to be used for their Green-Schools Travel programme, with runners-up each receiving a prize of €500.
The deadline for entry is Friday, 10th March 2023.
For a list of the full terms and conditions and to download social media promotion packs please visit our website.
New this year!
This year we’ve added a Staffroom Challenge to encourage everyone in your school to take part in the Big Travel Challenge. Can more staff in your school carpool or walk/cycle to work each day?
For the Staffroom Challenge we’re asking school staff to promote one or more modes of sustainable transport and track the numbers of people travelling sustainably over a 10 day period. Unlike the whole-school challenge the Staffroom Challenge allows for multiple sustainable modes of travel to be promoted.
How to apply & win
Like the whole-school challenge, we ask you to complete an application form to enter the Staffroom Challenge. On the form we ask for information on how you promoted sustainable travel among all staff and you have the option to share figures from your tracked days; personal stories of change or both!
Prize
For the Staffroom Challenge we want to cater a prize to your school’s staff so we’ll work with the winning school to create a prize that works for you with a total prize fund of €500 for the winning Staffroom. (Perhaps you need a new coffee machine? Or funding towards a celebratory event for your school’s staff?)
Motivation is what gets you started; habit is what keeps you going!
Also new in 2023… the TikTok Challenge!
Feeling creative? Share your BTC TikTok video or Instagram reel, tagging @greenschoolsire and #BigTravelChallenge for a chance to win!
Prize
We’d like to reward your creativity with a pizza or ice cream party for your Green Schools Committee before the end of this school year. T&C’s will apply.
Get moving!
Please contact your Travel Officer or the Green-Schools Travel team at travel@greenschoolsireland.org if you have any questions.
Let us know how your school is getting on during the challenge by tagging us: @GreenSchoolsIre #BigTravelChallenge