The Big Travel Challenge 2020
The Green-Schools Travel team is inviting schools to take part in the big TRAVEL CHALLENGE 2020. This year the Travel competition is celebrating six years of successfully encouraging more students to enjoy the benefits of actively travelling to school in the month of February.
Walking, cycling or scooting to school can be an opportunity to increase physical activity in the darker winter months, when time spent outdoors is often reduced. The aim of the challenge is to promote a sustainable mode of transport of your choice for 10 days during the month of February. Last year St. Peter’s National School from Dromiskin in Louth were named ‘Ireland’s Travel School of the Year’ following their efforts to increase the numbers of staff and students walking to school. The 240 students and staff members who come from the Dromiskin area, concentrated on walking, beginning their challenge with 100 students and ending with an outstanding 207 students opting to travel to school on foot. To spread the message of sustainable, active travel the Green-Schools committee visited each class in the school to the run up to the challenge, and used their Twitter account and good relationship with community groups like Tidy Towns to spread the word that they were focused on walking to school.
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, carpooling, park ‘n’ stride or the bus.
We are asking schools to promote their chosen greener mode of travel for any 10-day period between February Monday 3rd and March Friday 13th and to record their results.
Is your school up for the BIG TRAVEL Challenge?
The poster, a BIG TRAVEL Tracker and the entry form is downloadable in the below links and schools currently on the Travel and Global Citizenship Travel themes will receive a poster by post. 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 entry 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 of the challenge. Awards may be made in each travel category (walking, cycling, scooting, carpooling, park ‘n’ stride and bus). The competition is open to all schools that have participated, or are participating, in the Green-Schools Travel theme and the Global Citizenship Travel theme.
Dúshlán Taistil Mór poster 2020
BIG Travel challenge poster 2020
Competition tracker sheet 2020
How will your school be judged?
Your schools will be judged based on the increase of students using the mode of travel you promote during the challenge and your innovation and creativity in promoting that mode in your school. (Shortlisted schools may also undergo an unannounced visit from An Taisce judges if we need more information about your Green-Schools Travel programme, Terms-and-Conditions-2020)
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 four runners up each receiving prize of €500.
Any other questions?
Due to increased storminess over the last month the deadline for entry has been extended to Friday 13th March 2020. Please contact your Travel Officer or the Green-Schools team at 01 400 2222 if you have any questions. Post or email entries to travelevents@eeu.antaisce.org.
Let us know how your school is getting on during the challenge by tagging us on social Instagram, Facebook or Twitter @GreenSchoolsIre #BigTravelChallenge