What is Active & Safe Routes to School?
Active & Safe Routes to School is a community-based initiative that promotes the use of active transportation to and from school, addressing health, physical activity, and traffic safety issues while taking action on air pollution and climate change. At the forefront of public health agendas across Canada, childhood obesity has become a serious concern with rates tripling over the last 3 decades. A major objective of ASRTS is to address this issue by reducing perceived risks and barriers of active travel to school, and in turn, increasing physical activity among children.
Programs
The flagship program of ASRTS is the School Travel Plan (STP), which is a program that engages schools and community stakeholders in identifying and addressing barriers to active travel to and from school. Schools who participate in the STP program are expected to develop a living document that is used to help facilitate active travel to and from school. Key community partners include city officials, police, public health professionals, community organizations, school boards, educators, parents, and children.
Role of the HEAL
The ASRTS steering committee of St. Thomas, Elgin, London, Middlesex, and Oxford is comprised of many community groups, including the HEAL at Western University. The HEAL has been part of this committee since its inception. Our role on the committee is to help identify challenges and potential solutions to school transportation problems in the region.
In particular, the HEAL is part of the STP working group, with the responsibilities of collecting and analyzing baseline data and developing the action plan. To do this, a representative of our lab acts as a co-facilitator in the distribution of youth and family surveys in the schools. Once surveys are completed, the data is securely transferred to the HEAL for processing. Basic analysis of the data is conducted, and major issues and trends are identified. Results are summarized and presented to the school’s STP committee for further use in the development and implementation of the Action Plan.
The Human Environments Analysis Laboratory and Ontario Active School Travel Council are working together to better understand how we can…
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A team of researchers led by Alina Medeiros, Adrian Buttazzoni, Stephanie E. Coen, Andrew F. Clark, Katherine Wilson, and Jason…
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The HEAL is working with the Ontario Active School Travel (OAST) Council and Green Communities Canada to assess policies influencing…
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HEAL Senior Project Coordinator, Dr. Andrew Clark, was a guest of Daniel Hall and Luis Patricio on their Cycling into…
Read moreIn February 2020, a multi-disciplinary team led by Dr Jason Gilliland and Dr. Doug Fraser (Dept of Paediatrics) was awarded funding…
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HEAL Director, Dr. Jason Gilliland and collaborators received a Project Scheme Grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research to…
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HEAL Researcher, Dr. Andrew Clark, HEAL Alumni, along with Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) and the London Middlesex…
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St. Thomas, Elgin, London, Middlesex, Oxford Active & Safe Routes to School Committee (activesaferoutes.ca) hosted an Active Travel Story Contest…
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On July 18th, members of the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory (HEAL) were joined by over 40 community partners at Civic…
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Engaging both children and their parents is critical to the success of any active school travel (AST) initiative. Yet these…
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Kate Berry from Green Communities Canada presents 'Provincial priorities for mobilizing Active School Travel' The Children’s Health and the Environment…
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The Human Environments Analysis Laboratory at Western University received funding to support the development of educational materials and messaging to connect Active…
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HEAL Project Coordinator and Senior Research Associate spoke about the importance of walking and wheeling to school at the Active…
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Vicky Kyriaco from the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority presents 'Active Transportation Policies and Initiatives for Busing Consortia: Ottawa's School Active…
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Emily Van Kesteren and Tara MacDaniel from the Middlesex-London Health Unit and Pam Ewart from the Elgin-St. Thomas Public Health…
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Laura Zeglen from Green Communities Canada presents School Travel Planning in Active Construction Zones: A Pilot Project at CHEWS. The…
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Tim Ross from the University of Toronto presents A Systematic Review of Disabilities Treatment in the Active School Travel and…
Read moreActive school travel (AST) is achieved by “walking and wheeling” to and from school as opposed to using vehicular transport.…
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Jason Gilliland, Western Geography Professor and Director of the Human Environments Analysis Lab and Urban Development Program, joined CBC's London…
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This research uses innovative participatory mapping and qualitative GIS methods to examine how children’s perceptions of their environments influence their…
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HEAL researchers, Dr. Andrew Clark, Dr. Jason Gilliland, Katherine Wilson and Kate Schieman along with Sabrina Sater, supervisor of neighbourhood development…
Read morePhysical activity plays a fundamental role in the health and well-being of children. The journey to and from school offers…
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Active school travel (AST), that is walking and wheeling to/from school, can be a relatively undemanding method for families to…
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Most North American (Canada & U.S.) children are not achieving their prescribed levels of daily physical activity. Active school travel…
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Dr. Jason Gilliland and Dr. Andrew Clark were recently featured in the London Free Press on the Active and Safe…
Read moreActive Travel Story Contest
Thank you to everyone who submitted a story to the Active Story Contest. Keep an eye out for next year's contest, which will be launched next October as part of iWalk Month! Check out our Activity School Travel & Climate Change Facilitator Guide if you are a teacher looking for other active school travel activities and curriculum connections.
2018 Story Contest
Check out the Walking to School Short Story and Active School Travel iSpy videos featuring submissions from students at Sir Arthur Currie P.S., Wilberforce P.S., and Princess Elizabeth P.S.
A video of Maham’s Walking to School Short Story sharing the benefits of walking, and wheeling to school.
A video featuring artwork, made by students from Wilberforce P.S. and Princess Elizabeth P.S, sharing the benefits of active school travel, with a focus on social connection and exposure to nature.
- Charyk Stewart, T., Edwards, J, Penny, A, Gilliland, J., Clark, A., Haidar, T, Batey, B., Pfeffer, A., Fraser, D.D., Merritt, N.H., & Parry, N.G. Evaluation of a Population Health Strategy to Reduce Distracted Driving: Examining All “Es” of Injury Prevention, Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery,90(3), 535-543
- Medeiros, A., Buttazzoni, A., Coen, S.E., Clark, A.F., Wilson, K., & Gilliland, J. Review of Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and Ethnic Background Considerations Reported in Active School Travel Intervention Studies, Journal of Transport & Health,21, 101035. DOI:10.1016/j.jth.2021.101035
- Buttazzoni A, Clark A, Seabrook J, Gilliland J. (2019). Promoting Active School Travel in Elementary Schools: A Regional Case Study of the School Travel Planning Intervention, J Transp Health,12: 206-219. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2019.01.007
- Gilliland, J., Maltby, M., Loebach, J., Xu, X., Luginaah, I., Shah, T. (2019). Is Active Travel a Breath of Fresh Air? Examining Children’s Exposure to Air Pollution During the School Commute. Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology.
- Wilson, K., Coen, S. E., Piaskoski, A., & Gilliland, J. A. (2018). Children’s perspectives on neighbourhood barriers and enablers to active school travel: A participatory mapping study. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe Canadien. doi: 10.1111/cag.12488
- Wilson, K., *Clark, A., Gilliland, J. (2018). Understanding Child and Parent Perceptions of Barriers Influencing Children's Active School Travel. BMC Public Health. 18: 1053. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5874-y
- Paddle, E., & Gilliland, J. (2018). Equal Opportunity Streets: Assessing the Equity of Publicly Provisioned Street Trees in Walk Zones Surrounding Elementary Schools. Environmental Justice,11(4), 154-164. doi: 10.1089/env.2017.0002
- Buttazzoni, A. N., Coen, S. E., & Gilliland, J. A. (2018). Supporting active school travel: A qualitative analysis of implementing a regional safe routes to school program. Social Science & Medicine,212, 181-190. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.07.032
- Buttazzoni, A. N., Van Kesteren, E. S., Shah, T. I., & Gilliland, J. A. (2018). Active School Travel Intervention Methodologies in North America: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,55(1), 115-124. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.04.007
- Loebach, J., & Gilliland, J. (2016). Neighbourhood play on the endangered list: Examining patterns in children’s local activity and mobility using GPS monitoring and qualitative GIS. Children’s Geographies,14(5), 573-589. doi: 10.1080/14733285.2016.1140126
- Clark, A., & Scott, D. (2016). Barriers to Walking: An Investigation of Adults in Hamilton (Ontario, Canada). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,13(2), 179. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13020179
- Clark, A. F., Bent, E. A., & Gilliland, J. (2015). Shortening the trip to school: Examining how children’s active school travel is influenced by shortcuts. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design,43(3), 499-514. doi: 10.1177/0265813515614678
- Clark, A. F., Scott, D. M., & Yiannakoulias, N. (2013). Examining the relationship between active travel, weather, and the built environment: A multilevel approach using a GPS-enhanced dataset. Transportation,41(2), 325-338. doi: 10.1007/s11116-013-9476-3
- Clark, A. F., & Scott, D. M. (2013). Does the social environment influence active travel? An investigation of walking in Hamilton, Canada. Journal of Transport Geography,31, 278-285. doi: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.06.005
- Larsen, K., Gilliland, J., & Hess, P. M. (2012). Route-Based Analysis to Capture the Environmental Influences on a Childs Mode of Travel between Home and School. Annals of the Association of American Geographers,102(6), 1348-1365. doi: 10.1080/00045608.2011.627059
- Larsen, K., Gilliland, J., Hess, P., Tucker, P., Irwin, J., & He, M. (2009). The Influence of the Physical Environment and Sociodemographic Characteristics on Childrens Mode of Travel to and From School. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), 520-526. doi: 10.2105/ajph.2008.135319
Climate Change & Active School Travel
The Human Environments Analysis Laboratory at Western University received funding to support the development of educational materials and messaging to connect Active School Travel with Climate Change. The following are resources available to use in schools and within the community.
Videos
Check out the wonderful videos that were created by the project team about Walking & Wheeling to School, Walking to the Bus Stop and Taking the Bus, and Anti-Idling.
Literature Review
A scoping literature review was conducted by HEALab student Alina Medeiros. The following PowerPoint presentation is the results of this work. For more information about this review, please contact the HEALab at heal @ uwo.ca.
Toolkit
Climate Change Toolkit
We have created a guide that contains all the information needed to promote active travel and combat climate change at your school. All of the resources centre around the three themes of this campaign: Walk to School; Take the School Bus; and Idle Free for the Kids. In this guide you will find resources such as a facilitator's guide, social media campaigns, school announcements and newsletters, and activities with curriculum connections.
Resources
Posters (11 x 17)
Go Green Travel Clean | ||
Walk to School | ||
Take the School Bus | ||
Idle Free for the Kids |
Colouring Sheets (8.5 x 11)
Walk to School | ||
Take the School Bus | ||
Idle Free for the Kids |
Activities with Curriculum Connections
A series of activities promoting the different messages of Climate Change and Active School Travel have been developed with related curriculum connections around the three themes of the campaign: Walk to School; Take the School Bus; and Idle Free for the Kids.
Note: the passport is best aligned when printed using Internet Explorer.
- Climate Change & Active School Travel Activity Toolkit
- Active Travel Passport
Social Media Posts & Messages
Facebook Posts | ||
Twitter Messages | ||
School Announcements | ||
Newsletter Inserts |
Additional iWalk Resources
For additional information and resources for iWalk campaigns and events please check out our Walking & Wheeling Campaign Resources and/or the Ontario Active School Travel page.
Evaluation
This study is aimed at understanding how the School Travel Planning program influences children’s travel behaviours, physical activity levels, and air quality around schools. School travel planning is a school-specific program that uses the 6 E’s of Safe Routes to School (i.e., Education, Encouragement, Engineering, Enforcement, Equity, Evaluation) to try to increase the number of students who choose environmentally friendly modes of travel to get to and from school.
Key components of the School Travel Plan (STP) are baseline and evaluation phases. The baseline data is used to develop an action plan, while the information collected during the evaluation helps to develop steps for sustainability and celebrate successes. The HEAL helps with these phases of the STP by setting up surveys and analyzing the data collected. Two surveys are used at both the baseline and evaluation phase – one for parents and one for students in grades 4 to 8 who have parent/guardian consent.
For more information on this process, or to start the process in your school please contact playeveryday@uwo.ca.
Active School Travel
Educational Intervention
This study is aimed at understanding how an active school travel educational and promotional program influences children's travel behaviours and road safety knowledge. The program involves children ages 9 to 14 to complete a series of online curriculum-connected lessons and activities teaching children how to safety interact with their environment in order to actively travel to and from school on a daily basis.
Our team is working with the City of London to evaluate the pilot study of a School Streets program that will be conducted in the Fall of 2022 at Old North Public School in London, ON. The study is designed to understand how a School Streets program impacts active transportation to and from school, as well as perceptions of barriers and facilitators around school travel in the neighbourhood.
This pilot study is aimed at ensuring the Road Safety Knowledge Questionnaire built into our Youth Survey incorporates all educational components of road safety required to be known by elementary children. This is part of a larger study designed to understand how School Travel Planning impacts active transportation to and from school which will take place starting in the Fall of 2022.
Validation of Parent & Youth
Active School Travel Surveys
This study was conducted to test the validity and reliability of parent and youth surveys designed to measure active school travel and related-correlates, including independent mobility, barriers to school travel, facilitators to school travel, and aspects of theory of planned behaviour as it relates to active school travel (e.g., attitudes, social norms, perceived controls, and intentions).