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Walk To School Week Takes Crazy Twist in England
treehugger.com — Walk to School Week in Brighton & Hove England took things over the edge as the road outside their Rudyard Kipling Primary School was closed to traffic and covered with plants, flowers and artificial grass so kids could walk on the roadway as though it were a path.
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- rebopper, on 10/11/2007, -3/+30Should have been, Frolic to School Week.
- Akaji, on 10/11/2007, -20/+9Nature walk! Hey, can we hug some trees when we're done?
- benijuana, on 10/11/2007, -4/+55my allergies!!!
- decay, on 10/11/2007, -12/+5This sounds like a great idea but as much as i would like to implement this in my school, for some kids it takes 15 minutes already to drive to school, it would be unbearable to ask them to walk for 45 minutes to school.
Some kind of alternative suggestion would be cool though. - Godlesswanderer, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Nice idea. I have to walk for half an hour to college on most mornings, it'd make a nice change.
- AegisGFX, on 10/11/2007, -4/+35Next week they are going to cover the streets with rainbows to promote "everything is fine" week to kids.
- ninsei, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12@ decay
I walk 45 min to work every day. - juxtapose, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13I guess the idea of going over the top was that these kids will remember this for a lifetime especially when their car is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
- thecosmicpope, on 10/11/2007, -0/+26This idea isnt really to make everyone walk to school, only the ones who can do. Obviously if its going to br a 45minute walk, then its best doing it some other way. But in the UK theres far too many kids being driven to school from only a 2minute walk away. I live outside a school and I've watched 4x4 Land Rovers pull up, drop the kids off, drive into a side road, the mum gets out and goes into the house. A 30 second drive! Its a stupid situation which my daughter will not be part of. It needs to be stopped, and up beat stuff like this is how to do it.
- hiPpymIck, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8adults do tend to overdo it
when theyre explaining something serious/important to kids
lightening-up on the presentation can only be good
FTA
"If we’re going to get the message of sustainability drilled home to kids we’re probably going to have to make it as wacky and fun as we possibly can. And that’s because it’s just too serious and potentially overwhelming a topic for many of them to digest in any other way." - tehgoatman, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9@ninsei
Sounds like you need a bike - VeganG, on 10/11/2007, -1/+21@decay:
What's wrong with 45 minutes of sustained walking? If that's "unbearable," see a physician immediately. - ChronicColonic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5I am not certain, but I believe I see the Teletubbies in the background of that picture.
- printenv, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7Biggest problem is your going to be kinda stinky when you get to work after a 45 min walk. Especially in the summer when it is 95 degrees out with 90-100% humidity. I currently bike to work most days (except rainy days or days I have to be somewhere mid day) and I have to say that being able to shower is the biggest thing that one needs at the end (if it is of some distance). However, I have to say that biking to work for me has been wonderful in getting me off my fat ass and making it into a less fat ass. Plus, you get to work out w/o taking up that much extra time from actually driving to and from work (half an hour extra). Kinda sweet, makes me feel efficient too.
- PixelVision, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2a 45 minute walk is nothing. When I was at school I used to cycle and in the autumn the rain would put loads of branches n stuff into the cycle lane so pretty often I'd get a flat tyre. A 30 minute ride became a 2 hour walk pushing a bike. Did I complain? No, because I missed assembly which is the most ridiculous concept that schools adhere to. Kids don't need to be told things in 1 room, they have their own teachers you know!
If kids would walk more then perhaps they wouldn't be so fat.
/cliché - kidd3ckz, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4I walked 2 hours yesterday and my ball hair wove itself together.
I'm fine now tho, I only had $1.35 for a bus and it costs $1.50.
It came undone btw, in case ur worried about me. I'm seriously OK. - spiffytech, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2A 45-minute walk to work/school would be easy, even for someone as out of shape as me. It's the time that's the problem. 45 minutes walking, or 39 minutes doing something more productive and 6 minutes driving. I'd rather take the latter.
- AriaStar, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2This is kind of creepy.
I'm getting this mental image of the Starburst Berrys & Cream elf-thing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkvhnRAd4V0&mode=related&search=) frolicking through there doing naughty things to all the mommies and little boys. - mahdaeng, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4@decay
yeah - i can see that walking for 45 minutes straight would be a real hardship - mahdaeng, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3@spiffytech
get up earlier - spiffytech, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1An extra 40 minutes sleeping is more beneficial for me than walking. And no, I'm not going to bed 40 minutes earlier. I go to bed when I'm sleepy enough to fall asleep. Trying to force myself to sleep earlier doesn't work (for me).
- esc27, on 10/11/2007, -2/+245 min is nothing... If you aren't carrying 20+ pounds of books (especially for younger people,) it is not raining, the temp is above 40F and below 90F, etc.
- themastersb, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Seems inspired by that car commercial.
- TocsinFilms, on 10/11/2007, -49/+8Yeah, but a lot of us live in America, where it's almost ***** scary to walk across the street in fear of the dumbasses who don't know how to drive, mostly Mexicans where I live, but I'm not being racist, I'm just telling the truth.
- jasoninoakland, on 10/11/2007, -13/+9Bill, stay away from the Internet. It's not "fair and balanced" enough for you. Stick to your loofah and shut up.
- kaiser44, on 10/11/2007, -4/+21and Asians, and Bahamians and most people from Cleveland, Ohio.
- TocsinFilms, on 10/11/2007, -36/+4@jasoninoakland
Sorry for telling the honest truth where I live. And by the way, your comment is one of the lamest ***** comments I've ever read in my life. Where exactly do you live? You must live somewhere nice huh? Somewhere where it's not ***** scary walking outside in fear of your ass getting shot for NO REASON, somewhere where crossing the streets doesnt land kids dead every day from people who don't pay attention and don't even care to. You must be glad living somewhere nice. Too bad not everyone is as lucky as you, you ***** prick. - pagancollective, on 10/11/2007, -8/+11@tocs
If you thought your first comment was dug down quickly... - TocsinFilms, on 10/11/2007, -21/+2@pagan
It must be nice living somewhere great. Sorry to all you rude assholes who have it better than other people. - gmurray, on 10/11/2007, -5/+13Deal with it.
- Zipko, on 10/11/2007, -2/+13In the words of Dennis Leary, "Life sucks, get a ***** helmet"
- redrock34, on 10/11/2007, -4/+38In other news, fat kids protest nationwide.
- alexforcefive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+24by "protest" did you mean "e-petition"?
- Knowbuddy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1he means fat kids across the world stood up in protest, then immediately sat back down, panting heavily.
- Fortuna, on 10/11/2007, -5/+15Sadly, amongst the carnival atmosphere, several children were lost to the sewers, presumably taken by Pennywise the clown.
- pagancollective, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5Awesome idea, I wonder how expensive it was. The final product looks so great it had to be pretty pricey.
- fugazi, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Do those houses look small or is it just me?
- samuelcotterall, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11They are what we call "Bungalows".
We're a pretty small nation.
- samuelcotterall, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11They are what we call "Bungalows".
- ShadySpace, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15I can't imagine how much more I'd be willing to go to school as a kid if my walk there consisted of singing cowboys and anthropomorphic fish encouraging and greeting me along the way.
- meetch, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2They should have just given the kids some LSD and told them to walk to school, I'm sure that would have put an "crazy twist" to it. They wouldn't have even needed to close off traffic to put up trees and plants because the kids would have just imagined all of them.
- runxctry, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1[picture here]
Walk to School Week in Brighton & Hove England took things over the edge as the road outside their Rudyard Kipling Primary School was closed to traffic and covered with plants, flowers and artificial grass so kids could walk on the roadway as though it were a path. The project itself just may be the first of its kind on the planet to be quite honest. I mean really, who ever heard of covering the road with fake grass just to prove a point about walking to school and sustainability? And from the looks of things it really had an impact on kids, the most important part of any project to get their attention about sustainability no matter how wacky it seems at first glance. How wacky was it? Well, not only was the road covered with fake grass and plants, but the kids were met with strange characters to greet them like singing cowboys and a fish on a bicycle too. So how did teachers and students feel about the whole crazy idea? Well, as Headteacher Barbara Shackell pointed out: “It was absolutely fantastic! There was a carnival atmosphere. The children were incredibly excited. They rounded the corner to come face to face with lots of weird characters and the road all turfed over and covered with magnificent plants. They loved it.” And this brings up a point that’s been running around in my head for the last year and a half. If we’re going to get the message of sustainability drilled home to kids we’re probably going to have to make it as wacky and fun as we possibly can. And that’s because it’s just too serious and potentially overwhelming a topic for many of them to digest in any other way. So here’s to many more wacky, creative projects that make a positive difference in great ways like this one. The world could use a lot more of them! - thcobbs, on 10/11/2007, -6/+9And how many vehicles did it require to haul all that down there, lay it out... trim it up.... etc?
- jclarke, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Yeah its a nice idea, but if the idea is to go greener i think they should have left the fake studf out. how much pollution is created when making the fake grass and trees?
- samuelcotterall, on 10/25/2007, -0/+10I love being English.
- HowitZer25, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1If you look close you can see me crushing a 3-wood off those mats.
- samuelcotterall, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Golf spoils a good walk (to school week).
- DangerDaz, on 10/25/2007, -0/+5@decay, I'm 15 and it takes me 15 minutes to get to school in the car, I walk home from school which takes me 45 minutes and i've never complained. I can't bare the run down public transport in this area.
- smackhero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2i live in the suburbs and the public transportation here is horrible. last semester i didn't have a car so i had to take the bus to the community college, which is normally a 15-20 minute drive away. the buses here run every 15 minutes, but to get to the campus, there's a second bus i have to take which only runs every 30 minutes. so i basically had to be at the bus stop an hour and a half before my class in order to make it on time--one day i left for the bus stop across the street an hour before class and ended up an hour late.
- kahakauai, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2@tocsinfilms and @jasoninoakland
Argueing online is like the special olympics... win or lose, your still retarded.
Have a nice day :)- TocsinFilms, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1Lol, good point. But dude, you do know there is a reply button right? It's probably hidden from my -20 diggs lol.
- st00dy, on 10/25/2007, -0/+3just wanted to pop in here and mark the day that my little corner of England made the digg frontpage.
having said that, i haven't got a bloody clue where Rudyard Kipling primary school is...- SGIsus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1haha good old Brighton by the seaside... my heart filled with pride when i saw this.
I don't have a clue where it is either... woodingdean/ovingdean area, maybe?...
but yeah... i want that road... - nick111, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I lived in Brighton for 7 years - no idea where this is - though I can tell by the houses that it's somewhere way out in the suburbs.
Anywhere within a two mile radius of the centre has utterly insane parking problems. If you tried to do something like this within that radius there would be physical punchups in the street. I was living near Seven-Dials... I had a 10 MONTH waiting list before I could get resident's parking - in the meantime I had to park a couple of miles away - outside someone else's house... and it would take about 45 minutes to find a space because everyone else on waiting lists was parking there as well.
And Brighton isn't as bad as London.
The UK has fairly serious transport problems. The average speed of traffic in central London was actually faster in the Victorian Era when the fastest thing was a horse. The whole thing needs a massive re-think.
And Brighton? Yea, I got rid of my car and walked everywhere. It was great.
- SGIsus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1haha good old Brighton by the seaside... my heart filled with pride when i saw this.
- yamyogurt, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Teaching kids to walk in the middle of the road, sounds good to me.
- hobophobe, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/magazine/20Curitiba-t.html This article from the NYTimes Magazine mentions a similar change that Curitiba, Brazil made back in 1972. They turned a six block area into a pedestrian zone in three days.
To wit: "Some diehard motorists, however, sulked. Lerner heard that a group of them were planning to disregard the prohibition and drive their cars into the street on a Saturday morning. So he contrived an unbreachable defense. With the cooperation of the city’s teachers and a donation of rolls of newsprint and boxes of paint, on that morning he assembled several hundred children in the street, where they sat and drew pictures. 'It was to say, ‘This is being done for children and their parents — don’t even think of putting cars there,'"
The neat thing is that the impromptu gathering of children to compel the pedestrian zone to sustain has continued. Children still gather and draw there to this day. Not just for a week, for over 30 years. - MrAndrew, on 10/11/2007, -4/+0Sure, it looks all very quaint but just last week that kid in blue offered me crack before the two in front jumped me and made off with my wallet...
- yorkie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Not the only place in the UK with the same idea ..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6687089.stm - SwissCamel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Let me guess, did we get all upset over paedophiles or something? Now to read the article....
- DaleoftheUK, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Here in the UK they'll call that a road resurfacing and leave it there for the next 10years.
- flyinghigh91, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0imagine being high and going to school to see that!
- Urusai, on 10/25/2007, -1/+8I thought all British children took the Hogwarts Express to school.
- dignon, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3What the hell is so "crazy" about this? Sounds like an awesome idea and looks great. We should do this to all our streets.
- untakenname, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1what about people who can't drive to work now because the road outside their house is now covered in vegetation?
- firedrillduckie, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I think "Walk to School week" would be a great idea...
if I didn't live 15 miles away from the school, and if my backpack didn't weigh more than 1/3 of my weight.
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