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Walk to School Week 2021
National Walk to School Week takes place from May 24th and May 28th, 2021. We are delighted to be able to celebrate Walk to School Week this year and hope to celebrate the great achievements made in schools around the country that have increased the numbers of children walking to school, during this very different academic year. Check out activities for each day of Walk to School Week below – we’ll be adding a plan for each day as the week progresses.
Wednesday 26th May is National WOW Day!
To help promote National Walk to School Week in your school please download posters in Irish or English for display in your classroom or around your school below. Each day during Walk to School Week we’ll post new activities or resources on our website for your classes to enjoy.
Join us for a Walk to School Week Journey
During Walk to School Week we’ll hear from Claire McDonald from Green-Schools, who will take us on a journey to the summit of Kilimanjaro and back! Dr. Elaine Murtagh from the University of Limerick will talk to us about different – fun! – ways to walk and the impact of walking on our mental and physical health. Writer John G. O’Dwyer will join us to share his extensive knowledge about historic Irish pilgrim routes and “walk us” through the many fascinating features of the practice of pilgrimage and, to conclude Walk to School Week on Friday 28th Ruth Whelan from Mountaineering Ireland will talk to us about hillwalking and “happy hiking”.
If you are interested in attending any or all of our live events please click here to register and we’ll send links to the events closer to the time.
A Sweet Sur-PRIZE
During Walk to School Week we want to reward your efforts to walk and travel as sustainably as possible to school. Each day at 4pm we’ll select a school to win cupcakes for your Green-Schools Committee / class group*. To be in with a chance to win, share photos of your Walk to School Week activities on Twitter or Instagram, tagging us @greenschoolsire and use #walktoschool21. You can also email your photos to travel@greenschoolsireland.org if you don’t use social media. A daily winner will be chosen from all tagged images each day.
*We will send the winning school 36 cupcakes.
Posters
The WOW Count
Keep a record of how many people walked to school on National WOW Day – Wednesday 26th May and return your numbers to travel@greenschoolsireland.org to ensure that your numbers are included in the count. Remember to take photos of your events and get in touch with your local Green-Schools Travel Officer for more information. We would love to see photos of your school’s adventures during Walk to School Week; tag @GreenSchoolsIre and use the hashtag #WalktoSchool21
Welcome to Walk to School Week 2021!
Friday
Mindful Walking
Our minds are often very busy with so many thoughts when we walk, thinking about what happened in the past or will happen next. Sometimes we are lost in our thoughts so much we bump into other people or trip over something. Mindful walking is all about bringing awareness to your feet and body. When we connect with the feelings and sensations in our body, we invite a little bit more focus and calmness, connecting with how we feel and what is happening around us.
Fun Facts about Feet and Walking
After a whole week on your feet and several walks it’s time to reveal some funny/interesting facts about feet and walking!
Walk to School Week Talks: Ruth Whelan
Our last talk of the week is about responsible and happy hiking, join us if you’d like to know more about how to plan and properly get ready for walks and hikes! If you registered for Ruth’s talk already the link is in your inbox; if you didn’t register you can also watch the talk online on our YouTube account.
Resources for Everyone:
Walk to School Quiz:
It’s the end of Walk to School Week, what best way to finish up then testing your knowledge with a fun quiz?
Walk to School Certificate of Participation
Well done you for taking part in National Walk to School Week 2021, download your certificate by clicking the button below!
Thursday
Nature Walk on your Doorstep
Join Green-Schools Biodiversity Officer Meabh Boylan in a nature walk on her doorstep. Find out more about all the things that you can witness when walking outdoors and how to recognise different species of flora and fauna. After watching the video have a look at the resources below and get ready to do your own nature walk and sound map! Not the best of weather outside? No worries, you can use a cloudy day for a walk and experience “cloud spotting”.
Walk to School Week Talks: Dr. Elaine Murtagh
Join University of Limerick lecturer Elaine Murtagh at 11am today to find out more about the benefits of walking and to hear about all the possible ways to “spice up your walks” and make them fun and interesting! If you registered for Elaine’s talk already the link is in your inbox; if you didn’t register you can also watch the talk online on our YouTube account.
Resources for Junior Primary Schools:
Resources for Senior Primaries Schools:
Resources for Secondary Schools:
Wednesday
Watch Travel Officer Jennifer do a Walkability Audit
If you haven’t experienced a Walkability Audit yet, we’re here to help! This video of Green-Schools Travel Officer Jennifer is a great example for understanding what we look for during a Walkability Audit with our Travel schools.
Walk to School Week Talks: Claire McDonald
Get ready for another exciting talk! At 11am today we’ll host our second webinar of Walk to School Week. Green-Schools Officer Claire McDonald will share with us her experience climbing Kilimanjaro. Register for our Thursday and Friday events at the link above.
Resources for Junior Primary Schools:
Resources for Senior Primaries Schools:
Resources for Secondary Schools:
I like to walk because…
Happy National WOW Day! To celebrate we asked members of our Green-Schools Travel team why they like to walk. When you go on your walk today, take a photo or video and share it with us @greenschoolsire.
Tuesday
#ThrowbackTuesday: Walkable Streets Webinar
Last year we hosted the Walkable Streets Webinar with Dr. Lorraine D’Arcy, Fiona Barry, Aaron Copeland and Trevor Keppel sharing their knowledge of what makes a city more walkable. If you missed it, or would like to watch it again, you’re in luck!
Walk to School Week Talks: John G. O’Dwyer
At 11am today we’ll be welcoming writer John G. O’Dwyer for our first live talk of Walk to School Week. Register at the button above to attend or tune into the livestream on YouTube. John will be sharing his knowledge of Spiritual Walks and Historic Irish Pilgrim Routes.
Resources for Primary Schools:
- Fionn’s Guessing Game from yesterday (see Monday’s activities below): the answers!
- What I see and hear on the way to school
Resources for Secondary Schools:
#WOWsforWellness
Travel Officer Caroline Murphy is happy to invite you all to do #WOWsforWellness tomorrow as part of your National WOW Day activities. Walk on Wednesday for the yours and the planet’s wellness! Watch Caroline’s videos for primary and secondary schools below. See you for more #WalktoSchool21 activities tomorrow!
Monday
Happy Walk to School Week, an introduction from Green-Schools:
Fionn’s Guessing Game
Fionn the Foot loves walking! This video will show pictures of Fionn around Ireland; can you guess where those pictures were taken? Watch carefully and don’t miss the clues!
Introduction to the Air Quality Toolkit
Which better week for learning about air quality than during Walk to School Week? Listen to Travel Officer Jessica introducing our Air Quality Toolkit – click here to download a copy for primary schools and here for secondary schools.
Fab Feet Friday!
We know it’s Monday but we want to prepare you for Fab Feet Friday later this week! This is a chance for students to get creative; decorate their old shoes and walk in them to school on Friday. Remember to “reuse” art materials when decorating shoes. The brighter and more outrageous the better! We are also inviting you to get a bit arty and arrange some artwork from your feet and shoes. Share your creations with us on social media!
Scores on Doors
It’s day one of Walk to School Week! Don’t forget to keep track of the numbers of students that walked to school today, and remember to do the same each day of the week. At the end of the week look at what class has the highest score for green travelling (walking to school)! See you tomorrow!