Equity and Ecology are two E's the Humboldt Partnership for Active Living (HumPAL) has added to the original federal and state Safe Routes to School E's (Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering and Evaluation). Our work focuses on the reduction of health disparities through the promotion of equity and the protection of the environment.
Equity
All children deserve safe routes, no matter where the neighborhood, the school, or the community. Additionally, all children of all abilities and income levels should be able to participate equally in Safe Routes to School activities. What does this mean? It means engineering routes for ADA compliance or better and being creative and inclusive when planning safe routes activities.
Ecology
Safe routes connect children to the outdoor environment and their community. For many reasons, many of today's children in the United States spend little time outdoors. As a result, many children are disconnected from the outdoor world and from their communities and neighbors. This is evidenced by an inability to recognize common local flowers or animals, to map a route to familiar destinations, or to name next-door neighbors. This situation can be addressed by offering children an opportunity to experience the out of doors as part of the trip to and from school.1
Parents and schools can help children link nature and the classroom by connecting what they see, hear, and smell on a morning or afternoon walk or bike ride with what they see, hear, and do in their classroom.
Children and parents alike can discover how driving less can have a positive impact on the environment and climate change. Families can make greenhouse gas reduction goals to take thousands of pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere each year. To find out the amount of carbon produced by a family's driving habits, follow these links!
Calculate your carbon footprint:
Another way to get kids connected to their environment is through mapping. Students can map their community, neighborhood, or school, and can include what kinds of nature they experience on their way to school.
See Education and Encouragement and Enforcement sections to discover other ways to be inclusive and ecologically minded with Safe Routes to School programs.