2018 Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School Program

Gannawarra Shire Council will encourage children and their families to make a healthy choice next month and scoot, cycle or walk to school, or the school bus, as part of the VicHealth Gannawarra Walk to School program.

This will be the sixth year that Council has successfully applied for a $10,000 Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) grant to run the program that supports the promotion of physical activity as well as improving safe active travel routes to and from school for primary school aged children.

 

All ten local primary schools are registered to participate.

 

Gannawarra Shire Council Mayor Cr. Brian Gibson has been an advocate for the VicHealth Walk to School program since its commencement across Gannawarra Shire communities in 2013.

 

“I am really proud of how strongly this month-long program is supported by all our local primary schools,” said Mayor Gibson. “The school students really get involved in the competition to see who can walk, ride or scoot the most throughout the month.”

 

The VicHealth Walk to School program commences on Monday October 8 and concludes on Friday November 2, 2018. The program encourages primary school aged students to walk, ride or scoot to school, or the school bus, and home again as many times as they can. The students record their walking history on Walk to School calendars that are tallied up at the end of the program.

 

“Council works in partnership with a range of other agencies to deliver this exciting program across our communities,” said Mayor Gibson. “It is great to see the pre-schools also involved in promoting the importance of children being active and healthy from a younger age.”

 

This year Council will focus on installing another two Drop Park Walk active travel routes to school that include Stop, Look, Listen, Think pedestrian safety messages at key crossing points.

 

Mayor Gibson said that the Drop, Park, Walk Active Travel routes make walking, riding and scooting to school an exciting part of the day for children and their families.

 

“The children get really excited about the stencils on the footpaths,” said Mayor Gibson. “The active travel routes also provide the opportunity for parents to drop their children off at a safe drop off point part way to school allowing more students to enjoy the benefits of walking to school.”

 

The Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program is a partnership project between Gannawarra Shire Council, Northern District Community Health, Kerang District Health, Cohuna District Hospital, Mallee District Aboriginal Service, Victoria Police, Mallee Family Care, with support from the Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership.

 

The official launch of the VicHealth Gannawarra Walk to School program will take place at the Koondrook Primary School on Thursday September 13, 2018. 
 

Walk to School is a VicHealth initiative. For more information go to: www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au

 

Follow along with the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program: www.facebook.com/HealthyGannawarra

 

Tune into radio station 98.7 MixxFM  for Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School messages throughout October.