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Greetings!
I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying a glorious fall with gorgeous days and cool, sometimes cold, nights. It is a perfect time of year for walking, biking and wheeling to school.
Congratulations to all of our Montana communities that had successful and vibrant Walk to School Day events last week. Thirty nine of our communities and schools registered at www.walktoschool.org. Below you will see results from a few of these events. Please send me details and photos of your Walk to School events so we can all share in your successes.
For many of us, Walk to School Day is the big event of the fall, or the year. I would like to encourage each of you to think of ways you can take the success of Walk to School Day and expand it to encouraging students, parents, and staff to walk, bike, and wheel to school more often. That could mean once a month, a week, and eventually everyday. Walk to School Day is always fun and exciting. I believe a large part of that feeling is the sense of camaraderie for the students, parents, staff and community. I suspect that many of you (adults and children) felt invigorated for the remainder of your day. That feeling likely came from two sources: increased activity is good for us all and your chance to genuinely interact a bit more that morning. Why not strive to feel that way every day. Jumping to every day may feel daunting. If so, start with a monthly walk at your school. You can then step to weekly and eventually every day.
As always please let me know how I can support you in your efforts. |
Walk to School Day
|  Walk to School Day was a huge success this year! Great job to all of you who helped with this event. It is always exciting to see all of the numbers coming in from these events. This year we saw record breaking participation from all over the state. We had 39 events registered in 16 towns this year.
Here are the numbers that we have had reported thus far.
Ronan 270
Butte: Whittier 313 of 423
Butte: Emmerson 230 of 420
Bozeman: Hawthorne 272 of 324 (123 bikes and 149 walkers)
Whitefish 324
Fort Benton 145
Please send us pictures from your events as well as your school's individual stories or overall synopsis of how the event went. We would love to feature more local programs and their successes. |
SRTS Mini-grants Call for Applications
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The National Center for Safe Routes to School is now accepting applications for 25 mini-grants of $1,000 each. These mini-grants support the goal of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs, which is to enable and encourage children to safely walk and bicycle to school. Mini-grants may fund activities ranging from the nuts and bolts that help start or sustain a safe walking and bicycling program to new ideas that explore the range of benefits of safe walking and bicycling. For more information, please click here. Applications are due Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
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2011 James L. Oberstar SRTS Award
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The National Center for Safe Routes to School is now accepting applications for the 2011 James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award. The annual Award recognizes a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program for outstanding achievement in improving the health and well-being of an entire generation of school children. This year's Award will recognize exemplary achievement by a SRTS program that has greatly improved the safety or increased the number of elementary or middle school students who walk and bicycle to school. Additional consideration will be given to applicants who have made active transportation to/from school an integral part of the school's culture over time. The application deadline is Wednesday, October 26, 2011. For more information, please click here.
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| Webinars | Upcoming Webinars:
Location, Location, Location: New Guidance for Locating Schools in a Healthy, Sustainable Way Tuesday, October 11th 1PM EST Where communities choose to locate their schools plays a big role in the health of the students, local residents, and even the surrounding neighborhood. Fortunately, new guidance and tools are available for those striving to make decisions that are good for the pocketbook, as well as the health of their citizens and community. Read more and register here.
Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations and Safe Routes to School:
Building Capacity and Leadership through an Effective Campaign
Wednesday, October 19th, 1PM ET
Safe Routes to School programs across the nation are growing at exponential rates as communities begin to see the value of encouraging the simple act of walking and bicycling to school and in daily life from an early age. Nonprofit advocacy organizations involved in schools, health and transportation have found a way to inspire communities through the Safe Routes to School movement, and its momentum, to proliferate the message of their organization, build membership, and grow their staff. Register here
Recently Archived
Creating Buzz Around Your SRTS Event View the recorded webinar here.
Reaching Out to Students Who Live Too Far to Walk or Bike: Including Bus Riders and Improving Bus Stop Safety View the recorded webinar here. |
Recycle-a-Bicycle Youth Bike Summit 2012
|  Recycle-A-Bicycle is thrilled to announce the Youth Bike Summit 2012! The Youth Bike Summit is a three day gathering geared toward youth, bicycles, education, and advocacy. This annual national conference offers a dynamic inter-generational exchange through educational workshops and panel discussions that are interactive and practical. Save the date! Please help spread the word! For more information, please visit our website. WHEN: Friday January 13 - Sunday January 15, 2012
WHERE: The New School in New York, NY
ADMISSION: $10/youth; $25/adult Call to Workshop Presenters! We are seeking youth and adult workshop leaders for the upcoming Youth Bike Summit! If you would like to lead a workshop presentation, please visit our website for guidelines and more information. Deadline for submissions: October 22, 2011 Call to Youth Artists and Writers! This year, Recycle-A-Bicycle is offering scholarships to the winners of the Youth Bike Summit Art Competition & Youth Bike Summit Essay Contest. For more information and instructions to apply, please click here. Deadline for submissions: October 22, 2011 Fundraising Tips: Want to come to the Youth Bike Summit but need help fundraising for a trip to New York City? Click here for some helpful tips! Youth Bike Summit 2012 is being planned by a Steering Committee comprised of officers, educators, and youth from youth bike education organizations throughout the country, including Bike Works, Bikes Not Bombs, Community Bicycle Center, Community Cycling Center, Neighborhood Bike Works, Phoenix Bikes, Sibley Bike Depot, West Town Bikes, and more! |
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Sincerely,
Taylor Lonsdale
Montana Safe Routes to School
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Important Dates
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October 19 - Applications for Mini-grants Due
October 26 - Applications for James L Oberstar SRTS Award are due | |
December 31 - Montana SRTS funding application is due. |
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