Bristol Warren Schools Take Part in International 'Walk to School Day'

, and a number of other Bristol Warren schools are among about 40 schools in Rhode Island that opted to participate in the International Walk to School campaign on Wednesday, Oct. 5, which is coordinated by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.

According to the International Walk to School website, the effort began in Chicago, IL, in 1997, inspired by a similar effort in England. By 2002, groups in all 50 states were participating in the campaign.

Bristol parents like Ed Tanner and Shannon Rozea walked their children to Guiteras School on Wednesday morning and snapped a photo to send to Patch to show off their participation in the event. 

"I think that this year went well," said Rozea, who organized the event for Guiteras School. "Our hope is to get a regular program going so that kids and their parents get used to walking or biking on a regular basis. In the future we'd like to do a lot more with this to make it more of an organized event, however I was pleased with how today went and I liked seeing the expression on the kids' faces when we gave them a special sticker for walking or biking to school. They seemed to really like that recognition."

Concerns about childhood obesity, the environment, and neigborhood safety are among the reasons that communities participate in the event but at Hugh Cole School in Warren, the event was a bit more personal.

For Hugh Cole, the walk was the kick-off event to celebrate Warren's award for a National Centers for Safe Routes to School grant. The grant provides funding for the broken bridge repair to join the new bike path extension to the main bike path, funding for the purchase of biking safety equipment for schools, and promoting "Walk to School" days throughout the year.

According to Melissa Maia, Hugh Cole had a great turnout.

"[We had] about three hundred participants all together," she said. "The Warren Police were out and about patrolling the main roadways to make sure drivers were following speed limits."

Visit the International Walk to School Day website for more information about the event. If you participated in Bristol or Warren, tell us how you thought it went!

Editor's Note: A special thank you to Ed Tanner for snapping this photo and sending it to us!