School Active Transportation

“Walking to school is a wonderful first step towards building long-term sustainable transportation habits in our city.”

Dzifa Binka, Project Lead, EnviroCentre

What are the benefits of school active transportation?

Health: Walking and wheeling to school is a great way to promote physical activity. According to the 2024 ParticipACTION Report Card, only 39% of Canadian children (ages 5-17) are getting the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day.
Safety: Active transportation reduces road congestion in the school zone, making it safer for everyone in the community. 
Community: Using active transportation helps people get to know their neighbourhood and builds a sense of community. As families walk to school or to the bus stop, they build relationships with each other and the neighbours that they see along the way.
Air Quality: by not using a car to get to school, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the school zone are reduced. This contributes to helping meet Ontario’s target of 30% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. 
Lifelong habits: Studies show that children who walk, cycle, or ride a bus for transportation, at least some of the time, are likely to grow into young adults who walk, cycle, and use transit. By walking to school, children build positive attitudes toward active and sustainable transportation – benefiting themselves and the planet!

The School Active Transportation (SAT) program

As part of our commitment to advancing active and sustainable transportation options for Ottawa area residents, EnviroCentre is proud to deliver the School Active Transportation program on behalf of the City of Ottawa. The SAT program provides valuable support and resources to build active and sustainable transportation habits among Ottawa students, families, and school communities.  

The Program uses a model developed by Green Communities Canada, called School Travel Planning, which is used across the country. It addresses the five E’s of transportation planning, which are guided by Equity and Engagement as overarching principles.

Education

Building skills with Bike Rodeos and pedestrian-safety workshops, sharing maps, tips, and resources with the entire school community to enhance active transportation.

Enforcement

Coordinating enforcement blitzes to encourage safe behavior in the school zone.

Encouragement

Holding Walk-to-School days, walking field trips, enhancing communications efforts, and friendly classroom competitions.

Engineering

Working with the City to identify infrastructure improvements, crossing guards, signage changes, and other measures to enhance walking and wheeling to school.

Evaluation

Conducting student and family surveys to track changes over time.

A group of children wearing backpacks walking to school during the winter.

Increasing rates of active transportation

Approximately 26% of students in grades 6 to 10 in Canada typically use active modes of transportation to get to school. The goal of the SAT program is to increase these rates, and recent survey data shows that schools involved in the SAT program have higher rates of walking to school!

The 2022 OSTA Transportation Survey Report summarizes data about how families from the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board travel to school. Survey results show that 32% of respondents from schools that have graduated from or are currently engaged in the SAT program walked all the way to school compared to 15% of respondents from schools that have never participated in the SAT program.

Get the Report

Hop! 

A bilingual app that makes walking to school fun  

Hop! is an app created by EnviroCentre and the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) to encourage elementary students to walk to school. Students can use the app to log the distances they have walked and see the positive impact walking has on the environment.

Hop! tells students how much greenhouse gas they’ve averted by walking instead of driving and its group challenges and milestones keep students motivated to choose active transportation.

Hop! is free and available for download by anyone. Schools are particularly encouraged to use it in their active transportation initiatives.

Get the Web App

Hop! Resources

Thumbnail of a promotional flyer for Hop!

Bilingual promotional postcard for the Hop! app

Thumbnail of a bilingual PDF document titled "Calling all Teachers!"

Bilingual flyer for teachers

Thumbnail of a bilingual yellow poster reading "Hop! Celebrate your steps!"

Bilingual promotional poster for Hop!

Thumbnail of a bilingual PDF document titled "What is Hop!?"

Bilingual flyer for schools & parents

Thumbnail of a bilingual PDF document titled "For Teachers: Creating a Team on Hop!!"

Bilingual resource on Creating Hop! teams in schools

Hop! Toolkit – User’s Guide & Promotional Materials