Leave your car at home. That’s the take-home message for Brookline parents and students as the town celebrates Car-Free School Day on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012. Students will be arriving at school by walking, biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, or taking public transportation. This effort is a uniquely Brookline way of participating in “International Walk to School Day,” when 3 million children worldwide in 21 different countries will walk to school. This year, school banners for Car-Free School Day will display flags of many of the countries that are participating.
As students arrive at school, parents and other volunteers greet the students by stamping their hands with a green footprint that represents Car-Free School Day and promote the Brookline community’s partner program, Brookline Climate Action, a town-wide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emission in Brookline.
“Car-Free School Day has two goals: 1) to enhance the health of kids and 2) to improve air quality by reducing our carbon footprint,” stated Dr. Alan Balsam, Director of Public Health and Human Services for Brookline. By encouraging Brookline students to walk to school, Car-Free School Day promotes the practice of healthy behavior. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 17% of children in the United States are obese, and obesity rates have tripled since the 1980s. Physical activity is an excellent way of preventing obesity and a healthy lifestyle to adopt.
In addition to encouraging healthy behaviors, walking, biking, or taking public transportation will have a positive influence on our environment. Motor vehicle usage is one of the biggest sources of air pollution. Hopefully, Car-Free School Day will encourage a reduction of private cars on the streets of Brookline.
Along with the Public Schools off Brookline and the School Green Teams, Car-Free School Day is sponsored by the Brookline Departments of Public Health and Recreation, Brookline’s Climate Action Brookline (CAB) and the Selectmen’s Climate Action Committee.
For further information and for photo opportunities, please contact Lynne Karsten, lkarsten@brooklinema.gov or 617-730-2336.