Children in Tullamarine, Victoria are being encouraged to scoot, walk or ride to school as part of VicHealth’s Walk to School programme.
Hume City Mayor Cr Adem Atmaca said school children from across the state took part in the annual challenge which was initiated to help students become more active.
He said it was all about helping young people develop healthy habits they could take into the future.
The Mayor said walking not only started the day with a great sense of accomplishment, but also helped to improve fitness levels and he urged children to undertake physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day.
He added that there were many benefits associated with walking to school including better health, the cultivation of friendships with classmates joining them on the walk and a chance to get to know the community better.
Funding for the initiative in the City of Hume has been provided by VicHealth and according to Mayor Atmaca has helped Council with printing services to advertise the Walk to School challenge to local students.
VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter said this year’s event was shaping up to exceed last year’s tally which saw 499 primary schools and nearly 80,000 students from across Victoria take part in the challenge.
She said the students which included children from 14 schools in Hume walked approximately 896,000km in total.
