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Everyday is Winter Walk Day for the walking school bus

The Walking School Bus includes about 10-15 kids who gather at a meeting place each morning and walk to school together with adult volunteers

Today is Winter Walk Day in Collingwood, and that warranted a special celebration for the local Walking School Bus.

Every child who joined the walking bus to get to school at Cameron Street Public School this morning got a free swim pass from the town to mark the occasion.

Jennifer Parker, a staffer with the Collingwood parks, recreation, and culture department, has been leading the walking bus for about two-and-a-half years with the help of volunteers from the Environment Network including Kerri McDonald.

Today, Christine Tjeerdsma, a public health nurse, also joined the walking bus to show support from the health unit for Winter Walk Day.

The walking bus is what it sounds like. Parents drop their kids off at a church parking lot near the school and the adult volunteers lead the group of students from the parking lot to the school on foot. The walking bus takes kids to school only. 

The project started as an initiative of the Healthy Kids Community Challenge as a partnership between the Environment Netowork and the town, and supported by Cameron Street Public School.

Parker said it was a way to address traffic issues and congestion at the school during morning drop-off.

“And most importantly it gets kids active and moving,” said Parker.

While walking to the school the kids cross the road as a group a couple of times, under the watchful eye of Parker and a couple of other adults.

The walking school bus usually draws about 10-15 kids mostly in the primary grades starting at Junior Kindergarten.

Melissa Kennett started bringing her two daughters to participate in the group walk this year.

“I absolutely love the walking school bus,” said Kennett. “The girls love it and they get a little bit of exercise, and it’s awesome to miss out on the traffic at the school.”

Heidi Walters is a student who joins the walking school bus in the mornings.

She said she likes to walk to school and play while she’s waiting for the walking bus to leave the parking lot.

She also had her eye on a prize, a smoothie party for the class who all walked to school for Winter Walk Day.

Winter Walk Day is a province-wide initiative celebrated by schools and used as a way to encourage kids to walk or wheel to school even in the winter.


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Erika Engel

About the Author: Erika Engel

Erika regularly covers all things news in Collingwood as a reporter and editor. She has 15 years of experience as a local journalist
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