National first to engage northern secondaries in action for sustainable travel 19/03/09 Aberdeen City Council is one of five local authorities in the north of Scotland taking part in a groundbreaking event tomorrow [(March 20], aimed at involving young people and teachers in planning for sustainable transport. The Northern Secondaries Sustainable Travel Action (NSSTA) seminar is designed to enthuse and empower secondary schools to engage in school travel planning activity. The project is the first of its type in Scotland, possibly even the UK, and pupils and staff from 26 secondary schools across northern Scotland will attend. The event will be opened with a keynote speech from Highlands and Islands MSP Dave Thompson. Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Moray, Highland and Shetland Councils are all taking part and funding has been secured from the Scottish Government for the pilot. Through partnership working across local authority boundaries it has been possible to organise a large-scale event which has attracted Government support, private sponsorship and the involvement of local celebrities. The idea for a secondary-specific event was initiated in response to a gap in processes to engage secondary schools in travel planning activity. It is hoped that if the project is successful, it could provide the basis for similar events across Scotland's local authorities. Officers have worked closely with the School Travel Team at Sustrans, the UK's leading sustainable transport charity, who administer "Tackling the School Run" on behalf of the Scottish Government. Inverness was chosen as the location for the event, as a "central" point for all local authorities taking part, and it will mainly be workshop-based to ensure "hands-on" participation. There will also be presentations for pupils and staff from schools in northern Scotland demonstrating best practice. The event, at the Inverness Ironworks, will be compered by Ginno Conti and Nicky Marr from Moray Firth Radio's breakfast show. The main aim will be to encourage healthier, more environmentally friendly methods of travel for both pupils and staff members. Around 150 pupils and school staff are expected to attend the event, which looks set to be fun, informative and constructive. Representatives from Sustrans, the Scottish Government's Sustainable Travel Team and guests from related initiatives are also invited, but it will primarily be a day for the pupils and staff involved. "The Northern Secondaries Sustainable Travel Action event will help pupils and staff identify practical options for delivering increased use of alternative forms of transport, including walking and cycling, in secondary schools," said Aberdeenshire Council School Travel Planning Officer, Aurelie Irving. "We believe this is the first event in the UK to work directly with secondary-age pupils "“ currently primary schools are more involved than secondary schools in school travel planning activities, and we hope we can change that with this innovative event. "The event in Inverness will look at ways to achieve a shift to alternative forms of transport which can benefit health, safety and the environment, providing attendees with the tools to put their aspirations into practice." By creating a greater numbers of pupils who feel they are able to act upon their ideas and make a difference to their school transport environment, organisers are confident that modal shift in the travel habits of pupils and staff will follow. Aberdeen City schools taking part are Bankhead, Cults, Dyce, Harlaw, Hazlehead and St Machar Academies. There are just under 25,000 pupils travelling to and from school daily. Levels of walking and cycling to school have consistently increased in recent years as a result of school travel planning and to date 93% of schools are involved in travel planning or have a completed travel plan. Four out of 12 secondary schools have travel plans which on average have sparked an increase in walking of nearly 15% since the initiative began in 2005. Aberdeenshire schools involved are Banchory, Banff, Aboyne, Inverurie and Mearns academies. Aberdeenshire Council has a target of 100% of schools being engaged in travel planning activities. Around 90% have some form of involvement, but uptake is generally stronger in primary schools. Only one Aberdeenshire academy, Ellon, has a completed travel plan and, although a number of academies are now starting to work on travel planning activities, pupil involvement is often difficult to secure. Moray is sending representatives from Elgin Academy, Buckie Community High School and Forres Academy. Moray targets are in line with Aberdeenshire's and the schools involvement is slightly lower at 85%. Shetland schools taking part are Sandwick Junior High, Scalloway Junior High and Brae High. Shetland has 33 schools. One of its two high schools, four its seven junior high schools with primary and nursery departments, and 16 of its 24 primary schools have travel plans. Highland schools travelling to Inverness are Alness Academy, Millburn Academy, Invergordon Academy, Charleston Academy, Granton Grammar, Kingussie High, Dingwall Academy, Gairloch High and Nairn Academy. Sixteen of its 29 high schools/academies have travel plans in place and four others are working on active travel projects. If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.