Walk Week 2009 has been a resounding success. Across WA 225 schools, 37 workplaces and 74 community organisations successfully held a walking event. Coordinators of these events are encouraged to fill in an evaluation form for a chance to WIN A PRIZE PACK.
Walk Week is held the first week of November each year since 2001, and encourages Western Australians to be active by walking for transport, health, recreation and the environment. It's a week of state-wide activities and events promoting walking, including Walk to School Wednesday, workplace walking challenges and community walks.
Walk Week aims to highlight the many benefits of walking at a personal, community, workplace and environmental level. The main message of Walk Week is to replace your short car trips with a Walk There Today.
Some fascinating facts to encourage you to Walk There Today:
Each year in Perth, residents make about 90 million private car trips of less than one kilometre – a distance that could be easily walked in 10 – 15 minutes. Leave the car at home and walk to your destination instead.
73 per cent of Perth residents state that they would definitely walk to work or their place of education if they could.
Taking up regular walking can reduce your risk of heart disease by as much as 50 per cent and can help guard against other chronic diseases such as diabetes and even some cancers.
If we all replaced one or two car trips a week with active transport like walking, we could reduce traffic congestion and air pollution while improving our health and saving money.
A 10 minute walk for a person weighing 70 kg can burn 42 calories. Leave the car at home and burn your own fuel instead.
59 per cent of Perth residents believe that public transport should be the main form of transport to work or place of education however only 11 per cent actually reported doing so.
Staff who walk to work are more productive, have less sick days and have improved fitness.
Children who walk to school have better concentration and memory throughout the day.
People who are regularly in cars suffer three times the amount of pollution as pedestrians because they are sitting in the line of the exhaust fumes from the car in front.
Walking causes no air pollution, whereas car emissions are the greatest cause of air pollution and contribute significantly to global warming. Help the environment by walking to your destination instead.
Most people overestimate public transport travel time by half and underestimate the time taken to drive.
Walk Week is a trademark of the Pedestrian Council of Australia.
Walk Week