"It's fun because you feel independent; you don't have to rely upon your parents to take you places - it's your own thing - it's pretty cool."

A Terra Linda High School student expressed the essence of teen motivation - independence - at the Amazing Transit Race sponsored by Marin Transit last December. Fostering autonomy and self-reliance is an important step for parents to nurture in their teenage. Giving teens the opportunity to problem solve and learn adult skills, builds confidence and promotes self-esteem as teens branch out into the wider world.  Read More

The Tiburon Bike Train has turned Orange this year!

Since the first day of school volunteer parents have stepped up to ride with children on the five mile trek from Belvedere to Bel Aire. After a one year trial of running a bike train funded by the Town of Tiburon, volunteers have ironed out the kinks and barriers. Their grass roots efforts are gaining some big support from local businesses. Bike trains are growing out of each neighborhood and from them, a visibility campaigned has emerged.

The Belvedere group calls themselves The Orange Bicycle Team and have applied for a grant from The Belvedere Community Foundation to purchase orange helmets.  Read More

Pi(e) Day was celebrated this year with a Go Green event at Kent Middle School where the Eco Action Club handed out samples of pie for the walkers and rollers. 

Kent Middle School has increased its green trips to school to 60% and is now one of the leading middle schools in Marin. 

The club students enjoy coming to weekly lunch time meetings where they brainstorm about various ways they can promote eco-friendly modes of transportation under the guidance of teacher advisor, Leslie Canin, and our Safe Routes to Schools Coordinator. 

Though the students are inspired to take action because of their awareness of carbon emissions and climate change, their focus is on having fun with monthly theme days.  Next month will be "Spring into Action." 

If you have been paying attention to how Congress has handled transportation over the past several years, you'd be justified in thinking that this May's expiration of the MAP-21 transportation law will get pushed back by months and that you don't need to pay attention to transportation this spring.

But, you'd be wrong.  While it is likely that we won't see a new transportation law by May as Congress sorts out how to fund it - the transportation committees are indeed working on the policy as we speak.  Decisions are being made this spring about what programs will be continued, consolidated or cut and what changes will be made.  House offices are telling us that more than half of the transportation bill has already been agreed to-though bicycle and pedestrian issues have not yet been addressed. Read full report

Who said your children can't have it all?

Kids who exercise daily get better grades than their sedentary peers, according to several studies. Researchers at the Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan found that, on a 4.0 grade scale, students who kept moving had GPAs that were, on average, 0.4 higher than those of the couch potatoes.

Here is why: Exercise increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain; it raises the levels of norepinephrine and endorphins, decreasing stress and improving mood; and it supports the creation of new nerve cells. All of these benefits combined translate into smarter, happier, and fitter children.

For more studies