Ireland’s annual celebration of walking to school runs from May 24-28.

Schools across Ireland will take part in National Walk to School Week 2021, the annual celebration of walking to school, which takes place from May 24 to 28 in primary and secondary schools. Walk to School Week is an initiative of the Green-Schools Programme. 

Schools participating in the Green-Schools Travel themes will encourage students, teachers, parents and the wider community to walk to school and focus on the many positives of an active, fun and sustainable commute on foot. National WOW Day (Walk on Wednesday) on May 28 is the week’s highpoint when Green-Schools hope to surpass the figure of 20k students walking to school.

To celebrate walking and the new appreciation many of us feel for our surroundings, Green-Schools is hosting four live online events with expert speakers during Walk to School Week 2021. Each day new activities and resources for schools to help celebrate the week will be shared online while Green-Schools Travel Officers will be visiting schools virtually to help in their campaigns to promote sustainable travel on the journey to school.

About National Walk to School Week

Green-Schools National Walk to School Week is one of the most important action awareness weeks in the school calendar and is the only one of its kind in Ireland which promotes active and sustainable travel on the journey to school.

Jane Hackett is the Manager of the Green-Schools Travel Programme: “We are excited to be back in touch with schools and focused on celebrating walking to school. If we have learned anything this past year it is the benefit of a walk outdoors; even a short walk has benefits for our physical health and mental wellbeing. We hope this message reaches the school run this week and many more children and teenagers discover the simple joy of walking to school.”

Walk to School Week arrives as UN Global Road Safety Week closes, the theme for which was ‘Streets for Life #Love30’. The UN is calling for 30km/h speed limits to be the norm in cities worldwide in places where people mix with traffic. The Green-Schools Programme promotes and supports the Love 30 campaign and reduced speed limits outside schools. The programme’s most recent Love 30 toolkit for schools can be found on the Green-Schools website.

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