Media Release

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Helensville Walking and Cycling Guide Released

Rodney District Council and pupils from Helensville Primary School have come together to design a new guide which will help people enjoy the walking and cycling opportunities around Helensville.

“Walking and Cycling in Helensville” is a new pamphlet which has information on the location of local facilities such as playgrounds, walkways, and shopping areas. The pamphlet also has information on walking school buses, safety guidelines for walkers and cyclists and the amount of carbon emissions saved by each kilometre people walk or cycle.

Pupils from Room 8 at Helensville Primary School developed a map of the town included in the guide which shows where footpaths, reserves, post shops and other facilities located.

Rodney District Council provided the children, aged between 7 and 9, with pedometers and a walking wheel to measure distances and the students walked the routes shown on the map themselves, noting down various features around the town. The project was carried out during school hours as part of the class curriculum.

The Council then prepared and printed the pamphlet, which also includes a range of other information.

Pictures of the Room 8 pupils and their ‘feet on the move’ also feature in the pamphlet.

Rodney District Council’s Sustainable Transport Coordinator Claire Flattery says that the children and the School’s parent coordinator did an amazing job of putting together the information needed to include in the town map. "We really appreciate the effort the children and the school put in to this project to make it a success."

“The idea of having the children physically map the town’s geography by walking around Helensville made the school curriculum come alive in a fun way and was also a great way for the children to stay fit and get to know their town, “she says.

“It is fantastic to have the school, the Council and the wider community come together to develop something that will be of lasting benefit and reference to the local community.”

Helensville Primary School currently has three walking school buses operating and is also taking part in a ‘Walking Wednesdays’ challenge where different classes to compete to see who can get the highest proportion of pupils walking to school on a Wednesday. Some classes have reported up to 80% of their pupils walking to school on that day.

Copies of the free pamphlet are available from the Helensville Information Centre, Library, Youth Centre and will also be available at the school’s upcoming ‘Ag Day’ on Saturday 17 October.

A walking and cycling guide to the Red Beach area was also developed by Rodney District Council last year in conjunction with Red Beach Primary School. The pamphlet is available from the Orewa Visitor Information Centre and Red Beach School.

Town Map (pdf)

ENDS

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