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What to look forward to in Back-to-School 2023

Youth en Route is really excited about our fourth September of back to school. We are looking for new schools and projects to take on for the school year. It’s going to be a stellar year. 

We’ve learned so much about how to break down the barriers youth face before they can choose active travel – and we’ve targeted our programs to have maximum impact. We’ve been fortunate to secure new sources of funding to be able to support schools and teachers to deliver learning. We are excited to see how some new partnerships and collaborations unfold over the course of the year. 

Here’s what we have on tap: 

Jumpstart-Funded Cyclist in Residence

A key part of our team, our two new staff are keen cyclists and mechanics who can support teaching and learning of cycling education in a range of classes, from K&E to PE, Science, and Outdoor Education. We’ve already developed lesson plans and materials that can be adapted to the learning situation. Schools can invite the cyclist in – free of charge – for 1-3 week stints to support bike education.  

100 Men Calgary and CP Kids Adaptive Bikes

Thanks to a donation from 100 Men Who Care Calgary Society, we’ve been able to purchase another 10 adaptive tricycles as well as footplates, steering rods, and other supports to make sure students succeed. We’ve now got bikes to a couple of middle schools including Sir John Franklin and William Pratt. We’ll share more as we deliver more trikes. 

Roll Out Carbon Week Oct. 2-6 

This is our city-wide, interschool challenge to get students thinking about emissions and trying different modes to get to school. We’ve got a Calgary Foundation grant for treats and prizes, and lots of donations. Each participating school will be able to give away a bike/helmet. We’ll provide posters, materials, and lesson plans if a Leadership Class wants to take it on. 

Students who choose to take the bus, instead of driving, can also contribute. The school with the biggest reductions will win $2000 for a party (or whatever!) More details coming soon. 

We think this is going to be an awesome event to build school spirit and for your students to meet new friends and potential commuting buddies!

Continued push for Bike Rack Improvements

We’re working with the CBE and CSSD and funders to get a process in place to make it easier to upgrade your school bike racks. We are hoping that we will be able to do more of our YER upgrades to make old racks functional. We hope to have more information soon. 

If you are worried about bike theft at your school. 

  • Make sure existing racks are in busy locations, but the front door
  • Support students with proper locking techniques
  • Make sure all bikes are registered on the Bike Index! 
  • Watch our video: It’s got all the deets. 

Why is all of this important? 

We’ve got data to understand what’s happening with youth and why they don’t cycle. A big one is the lack of skills. They simply don’t understand that cycling is often faster and easier than the bus or getting stuck in school traffic. 

We know: 

  • Less than 1% of high school students ride bikes to school
  • 15% of kids have either never been on a bike, or don’t have any cycling skills
  • 12% of kids would ride to school if they had a bike
  • 35% of students would consider riding to school, which increases to over 50 if they had an incentive of some sort. It’s this data that we want to exploit. 

Get in touch now!

Students, Teachers, Parents, or principals can all reach out to get the ball rolling. We meet schools where they are at – bringing resources and support, not adding to workloads. We know that cycling is healthy, sustainable, inexpensive, empowering, and independent. All students should be able to make this choice. 

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