Your Move student leaders collaborate to improve active travel to school

Fifteen schools across WA participated in our annual Your Move Labs last month, empowering students to work together to increase active travel in their school communities.

Hosted in the City of Canning, City of Joondalup and online by the Department of Transport’s Behaviour Change team, groups of students, accompanied by a Champion teacher, represented their schools over two days where they joined interactive sessions to learn new skills around leadership, project planning, sustainability, active travel and mental health and wellbeing.

Students were asked to think outside the box and come up with creative projects to promote active travel for the school journey. They then pitched their ideas to an expert panel of Department of Education, Western Australian Local Government Association, Act Belong Commit, Road Safety Commission and Transperth representatives, as well as local elected members, who provided feedback about how they could turn their concepts into reality.

Department of Transport Behaviour Change Coordinator, Katy Sullivan said the Your Move Labs provided a great opportunity to improve student knowledge about sustainable travel and inspire children to think innovatively about ways to get to school.

“We know that there has been a significant decline in kids walking and riding to school, so by facilitating these student-led labs, we can really focus on what’s relevant for student leaders and what kinds of things would support them to choose walking, riding, scooting and taking public transport for the trip to school.

“It gives them the confidence and opportunity to share ideas and design projects, and also better understand the benefits that walking, wheeling and riding to school can have.

“We have 270 schools registered as part of the Department’s Your Move program and are excited to see the initiative grow, and get more kids involved in active travel infrastructure and strategy decisions that directly impact them and their communities.”

Clifton Hills Primary School, which is receiving intensive support through the Armadale Line Active Travel program, proposed the ‘Sign in Pad’ project, which would see students who ride to school register their arrival on an iPad in their bike shelter, triggering a notification to be sent to their parent or guardian that they have arrived safely.

These events are actively supported by Active Travel Officers who are partly funded by DoT via the WA Bicycle Network grants program.

To boost active travel within your school community, visit the Your Move website.

Your Move Lab student participants from Challis Community Primary School and Cannington Community College