National Walk to School Day

On October 4th, National Walk to School Day and Crossing Guard Appreciation Day is celebrated annually. Across the country, schools witness parades of students taking the time to get up a little earlier and walk or bike to school rather than use a form of transportation. There are organized conventions each year centered around walking or biking to school that help spread environmental awareness. Although it is more feasible for elementary school students to walk, high school students can still take part. In fact, there are students walking to school every day.

“I think it’s great to walk to school. It’s not only environmentally and physically friendly, but it’s also healthy to get one walk in per day,” ,” said junior Katerina Romanides, “It might be hard at first because of the physical strain from walking long distances, but the more and more you do it, the more and more you will get used to it and learn to do it.”

“I walk to school because I live so close. It would be slower to drive,” said sophomore Sebastian Parga. “I could say something corny like ‘it’s good exercise,’ but honestly, just think about how much easier it is to just walk out the door and be on your way. No cars, no hassle. Just you and your own two legs taking you straight to the front entrance.”

Of course there is the obvious insanity of an Edgewater student walking over an hour and a half to school, so it is not possible for them, but for students who live in Leonia, it is perfectly reasonable.

There are numerous reasons to walk to school, but the main reason is walking and cycling produces zero emissions, whereas an average car produces 400 grams of CO2 per mile driven (EPA).

The weather looks great for Wednesday, October 4th, so join the celebration and don’t forget to thank your crossing guards!