0114 273 4655
STOP ROLLING AND START STROLLNG TO HELP YOU AND THE ENVIRONMENT STAY HEALTHY
April 2009
Care4Air are encouraging businesses and individuals to �stop rolling and start strolling� throughout 2009 to help people and the environment stay healthy. The campaign aims to promote walking and reduce unnecessary vehicle use to help improve air quality for everyone! �Stop rolling and start strolling� kicks off next week to coincide with the first ever �Walk to Work Week� taking place across the UK.
Care4Air is highlighting Walk To Work Week to remind people that walking not only helps the environment but is also fun, will save you money and be good for your health.
Mark Daly, Care4Air Co-ordinator, said: �50% of all car journeys are under 2 miles, so our message is �if you're not going far, don�t use you car�! Try walking to work, taking a stroll down to the local shop or doing the school run on foot instead. Walking two miles takes less than half an hour and on average you'll burn 200 calories - so by putting your best foot forward you'll ease traffic congestion, help reduce harmful vehicle emissions in the air, and keep healthy. We hope that this campaign will help people understand a bit more about air quality and what they can do to improve it.�
Air pollution from industrial sources is no longer the main source of poor air quality - air pollution comes mostly from road traffic exhausts and is especially high in areas where there are lots of vehicles, such as town centres and motorways. The European Commission estimates that air pollutants caused by traffic are responsible for more than 32,000 premature deaths in the UK each year alone. Children living in heavily trafficked streets are more likely to develop chronic respiratory problems and the health impacts from just one form of traffic pollution, called particulate matter, costs up to �21 billion per year.
If people travel on foot occasionally rather than by car, there will a positive outcome for their health and to the environment around them.
To start things off, Care4Air are suggesting people across South Yorkshire give the 5 Walk to Work Week challenges a go:
- Walk all or part of your way to work.
- Unleash your creativity! Take a �walking meeting� and let the ideas flow.
- Ditch your desk. Get out and enjoy your local area during your lunch hour.
- Take a walk with a friend, the perfect way to catch up and unwind.
- Escape the rush hour and walk all or part of your journey home.
The team at diva creative, a Sheffield-based social marketing agency, has decided to take the challenge and walk to their city-centre office every morning from 27th April � 1st May as part of national Walk to Work Week.
Put your best foot forward and find hints and tips about how you can start walking instead of relying on your car, as well as a list of walking events and links to useful websites which can help you plan your journey or even set up your own walking schemes at here