MAKE SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL YOUR
POST-SATS FOCUS
08/05/07 11:40
The Environmental Transport Association
launches new schools resource ahead of Walk to School
Week (May 21 - 25) and Green Transport Week (16 - 24
June)
The
Environmental Transport Association
(ETA) has launched a set
of online lesson plans and resources designed to
promote and support both
Walk to School week this month and
Green
Transport Week in
June, as part of an ongoing programme of educational
development.
The ETA is the
alternative breakdown service, providing first class
breakdown cover while campaigning on environmental
issues. It recognizes that many excellent resources sit
unused in staffrooms because they are not immediately
relevant to the main school curriculum.
The new ETA resource aims
to solve this problem by providing a full themed week
aimed at children in years 5 and 6 which will address
day to day planning objectives. There is enough
material in the resource to last for at least half a
term, and teachers will need to select what is
appropriate for them. Similar resources for other age
groups are planned for the future.
Further information,
teaching plans and downloadable resources are now
available online at
www.eta-schools.co.uk. Teaching plans can be downloaded in
editable Word format, allowing teachers to customise
them for their own classes and adapt them to their own
school planning frameworks.
In the lead up to Walk to School week, which begins on
21 May, the ETA schools website aims to educate
children about the positive effects of walking to
school, particularly focusing on global climate change
and local pollution and congestion.
The Walk to School Campaign asks parents, pupils and
teachers to think about their journey to and from
school, and the many benefits of making it on foot.
Over 50% of children don't walk to school regularly,
and more and more pupils are being driven to school in
a car. This trend is contributing to reduced physical
activity and increased childhood obesity, urban
congestion and air pollution.
Green Transport
Week, which takes place this year from 16-24 June, was
first launched as one of the Environmental Transport
Association’s leading campaigning initiatives in 1993.
Andrew Davis, director of the ETA, created Green
Transport Week to provide members with support and
information about transport and the environment. Its
aim then, as it still is today, is to involve millions
of people in activities that highlight our transport
impact on the environment and show how it can be
reduced.
Speaking about the new resource, Andrew Davis says:
"The schools website aims to provide a forum for
support, feedback and the promotion of best practice in
this area. We hope that local authorities as well as
schools will use and promote these resources
widely."
Founded in 1990, the Environmental
Transport Association aims to raise awareness of the
impact of excessive car use and help individuals and
organisations to make positive changes in their travel
habits. The ETA is the ethical alternative to other
motoring organisations and by providing high quality
services from car breakdown to home insurance to
anybody concerned about the impact of transport on the
environment, funds are generated for the ETA’s
campaigns. For more information about ETA products and
services visit www.eta.co.uk
.