Welcome to the Fall 2008 issue of The Safe Routes Scoop.

 

Health and environment are two hot topics in the media lately. With rising obesity rates in adults and children and rising temperatures as a result of global warming, the world as we know it is changing. The latest shocking report states that if current health trends continue, every American adult could be significantly overweight within 40 years. Equally disturbing are reports that the earth is hurtling toward a warmer age at a quickening pace with increasing consequences of severe weather, melting polar ice caps and more than a million species of plants and animals on the road to extinction.

 

Our children need help now to make their future better. Safe Routes to School programs can provide children with safe ways to increase their daily physical activity and reduce their carbon footprint at the same time. In this issue of Safe Routes Scoop, we examine health and environmental issues more closely. In “Safe and Healthy Routes to School,” we focus on how school nurses and municipal health departments contribute to SRTS programs. In “Clean Green Schools, Healthy Happy Kids,” we describe how SRTS projects address sustainability. In “Back to School, Bike to School,” we profile several NJ schools that promote bicycling as a safe and healthy way to travel to and from school.

Big change happens with small steps.  As parents, teachers, friends and neighbors, it is up to us to help change the habits of an entire generation by altering our own behaviors. You don’t have to be the Walking School Bus driver or the Walk to School Day coordinator to make a difference. Make a commitment to walk or bike with a child to school instead of automatically grabbing the car keys.Walk or bike for short trips whenever you can. Keep your sidewalks clear of leaves, trash and snow so that students can walk on them safely. Help raise awareness of the issues by attending school board meetings, writing newsletter articles, or volunteering to teach a safety class or environmental workshop. Thank your crossing guards for their work.  Together with our children, we can bring about positive change and avoid a truly frightening future.

 

I hope you enjoy this issue of New Jersey’s Safe Routes Scoop and find it both useful and informative. As always, we welcome your questions and comments. If you or someone you know has interest in contributing an idea or article, please email us at srts@rci.rutgers.edu.

 

—Elise Bremer-Nei,
NJDOT Safe Routes to School Coordinator