Five Wiltshire secondary schools took part in a special conference at County Hall recently, which was held to help raise awareness of the impact of transport on climate change.
Wiltshire Council worked with cycling, wheeling and walking charity, Sustrans, to host Wiltshire’s Climate Change Active Travel Conference. Pupils attended from Clarendon Academy, Trowbridge, St Laurence, Bradford on Avon, Melksham Oak Community School, Abbeyfield School and Hardenhuish School, both in Chippenham.
The pupils took part in a series of workshops to identify barriers to walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting, and the pupils developed solutions to overcome them and devised their own bespoke action plan for their schools.
Once back at school, the aim is for the pupils to set up and run activities, initiatives and events to support their fellow pupils and school staff to make changes. This will include travelling actively by walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting where possible, rather than using the car.
Paul Turner (pictured top) from the Ministry of Eco-education was a guest speaker at the event and he explored the topic of how by reclaiming power through everyday positive action, people can choose a sustainable future.
Wiltshire Council has also been developing Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) to improve cycling and walking opportunities throughout the county, in close partnership with town councils. In Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon, cycling and walking schemes have been completed to make routes safer and easier for children to walk or cycle to school.
The council has also completed traffic-free routes between Hilperton and Melksham, and between Chippenham and Corsham, to encourage more people to leave their cars at home. On 17 March Wiltshire Council confirmed it had also submitted a bid to Active Travel England (ATE) for funds to support further walking and wheeling routes in the county.
More information about climate change, and what people can do to make a positive difference, can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/climate-change.