*Photograph: Chris Copley
SCHOOL children and parents in Ennis take pride keeping active and reducing emissions in the morning with daily walking busses and cycling initiatives growing legs in recent years.
Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg encourages active travel through weekly email communication each week. We recently reported on the Pelaton na Páistí, a cycle-to-school initiative being facilitated by parents from Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg.
Sinéad O’Donoghue, a parent of two children in the school set up a walking bus leaving from the Certa forecourt on the Tulla Road each morning, almost three years ago. “When we moved to the Tulla Road there was kind of nothing, so, I just said to the teachers I’m going to be walking my kids to school anyway and I think there is a lot of interest. I kind of just took it upon myself to put it out there, and the school put it out there and we’ve had regular people ever since.”
Sinéad explains that the volunteerism from other parents is vital to keep the walking bus up and running. “We have a rota so a different parent does a different day every week, and then we have a couple of parents as well that can sub in if we are stuck”.
Sinéad continues, “It runs every day regardless of the weather unless it’s a red warning. I think the reliability thing is a factor as in, if you are going to do it you have to make sure it runs every day so that people can rely on it”.
When walking with kids on a busy road, safety will always be paramount. Sinéad speaks about how they implement safety measures when walking in the mornings. “They are all made aware that the adult in charge is the person they listen to. It’s a big trust thing really but the parents are always very clear to the kids need to listen to the adult. It’s not a massive group and I suppose we are very lucky; there has never been issues.”
The Gaelscoil consistently encourages more sustainable ways to get to school and having the walking bus is just another option for parents and kids to take that greener and healthier option to kickstart their day. “The school are really positive that we are doing it because they encourage active travel and the parents of the kids that are on it are happy that there is an opportunity for their kids to walk.
“There has been no negative feedback. It has just been another opportunity to encourage kids to use more sustainable modes to get to school”.
Sinéad encourages anyone who wants to create their own walking bus to just go for it, “once it is less than 1.2km, in that kind of area, if you have somewhere to congregate and you’ve got some willing volunteers, there’s very little things you need to start off”.
While the health and sustainable aspects of the walking bus are excellent, it also boosts the children’s mood going in to school. Walking in the morning allows them to become more alert and gets them prepared for sitting inside for the majority of the day.
“I definitely see that the walk gets them ready for the day, it’s a great social outlet at the start of the day. They’ll be chatting to whoever’s on it, we’ll have a chat with them and they’ll arrive at school ready to go in, in good spirits”.
