Hub for Action on School Transport Emissions (HASTE)
The Issue
How we get to school can play a big part in the health of the environment and our own personal health.
- Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, accounting for more than one quarter of the total.
- In BC, 1 out of every 2 children travel to urban and suburban schools by car.
Looking at the numbers, it is clear that the choices we when on the go are important to ensure a healthy environment. As our population continues to grow, it becomes essential that we keep the growth of vehicle use in check.
How we get to school (and work for that matter) can significantly reduce emissions nationwide. Become influential in steering people towards better modes of transportation.
Project Overview
The Hub for Action and School Transport Emissions is an on-line resource that offers tools and resources for encouraging more active modes of transportation to BC schools.
The Hub provides a way to survey student travel so that we may begin to understand how each school community travels, and what programs or initiatives are helping to change that to better news for the environment.
You can get involved today. Get students at your school using the MyTravel Calculator.
image of the MyTravel calculator
Students registered with Your U-turn, and environmental clubs are eligible to receive $50 in funding for their school for every 25 students who are recruited at their school to use the MyTravel calculator and survey tool. An extra $25 is available if a total of 75 students calculate their emissions and send in their pledges. Total maximum funding per school is $175 dollars.
Use your reward in a way that supports your teams work on emissions reduction: get air pumps for use at school, or bring a speaker to your school.
Plan for Action
Getting set-up
1. First register here for access to the HASTE database.
2. Sign-up to the HASTE data base by filling out the form linked here. The database will be used to store the results of students at your school who use the My Travel Calc. The database will provide an overall picture of how students are getting to and from school.
Getting others to use the calculator
1. Here are a couple of ways that you can go about this - determine which of them you feel most comfortable with; you may find it effective to combine the two.
Spend an afternoon collecting e-mail addresses of students at your school. Once you've completed your list, send the students an email asking them to use the MyTravel calculator, including a link to the calculator and your school password. A sample e-mail can be found below along with a form to record e-mails.
2. Find teachers who have access to the computer lab, and explain your campaign and how the calculator works. Ask them to support your campaign by having their students complete the MyTravel calculatator before, during, or after class. Teachers will need the class code to pass onto students so that the travel results are saved in the database. When you access the database, you'll be able to set up a code for your school, or for individual classes or groups.
For every 25 students who use the calculator, you can apply for $50 in funding for your environmental group or student council. If 75 students at your school pledge their results, that number goes up to $175.
Tool-kit
To access the downloads for the HASTE Action Project Tool-kit sign-up here.
