It’s a sight to see each morning at Ariel School: 150 (mostly) smiling kids all walking to school and having a great time.

The “walking bus” started in April 2009.  Ariel school, together with the Raanana municipality, wanted to encourage children to walk to school rather than travel in their parents’ pollution-emitting cars.

Outside Ariel school there was always chaos each morning, as is the case with most schools. It is also dangerous with many cars double parked and kids walking between them.

We have even had a few demonstrations outside school where the kids held homemade placards and shouted, sang and gave out leaflets aimed at those parents who still insist on bringing their kids to school in their cars even though many live in close proximity to Ariel school.

There are four meeting points: one on Mapu, the second on the corner of Tzifman and Ahad Aham, the third on Achuza and the fourth on Maccabi.

The kids arrive at their meeting places from 07.20 and by 07.45 we are on our way to school and we always get there well before the bell. This is a massive achievement in itself as punctuality has been a big problem over the years. There are always children who wander into school late.

Walking to school is a great way to start the day. The eight volunteers involved have a lovely time with the children, whose smiling faces brighten each morning, and it’s great for the kids as they start their day chatting to friends and making new ones.

Now we are trying to get even more kids to walk and will be making more meeting points in the near future.

We are all looking forward to the new school year. Wherever possible, parents should be encouraging their kids to walk and be healthy, and of course help the environment at the same time.

This whole exercise has been a great success. There is one other school in Raanana that has a walking project and we are hoping that many more will follow in our footsteps.

ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO WALK TO SCHOOL – MAKE A DIFFERENCE.