Students from Brooks Secondary School’s Coast Mountain Academy (CMA) have been honing their leadership skills as they visit various grade four classrooms as part of a youth-focused active transportation project.
Ryan Barfoot, CMA coordinator and instructor, said the teens have been learning about different styles of leadership and mentoring over the past few months and the active transportation project is providing opportunities for practicing those skills.
The CMA students were at Westview Elementary School on Wednesday, April 22, giving the first of three presentations to the grade four class scheduled for the remainder of the school year. The first was designed to teach the relationship between activity and health and the benefits of active transportation. The teens incorporated videos and a relay race using bike-related equipment into the lesson plan to add interest and physical activity.
“It’s surprising how well-behaved the kids are because you think elementary kids are going to be rambunctious but they really want to learn when it’s fun and hands-on,” said CMA student Devin Knox.
Zack Fitzpatrick, another high school student in the CMA program, noted that the lesson from the teens was well received because there was not a large age gap.
The program comes from a collaboration between local educator Chris Bratseth and family physician Dr. Chris Morwood who have been working together to promote increased physical activity for children.
The broad partnership brings together School District 47 and Powell River Division of Family Practice, as well as the city and Powell River Cycling Association to improve riding knowledge, skills and safety as well as provide other health benefits for children.
Despite the abundance of parks, green spaces, sports programs and recreation centres, less than 10 per cent of school-age children in the country are getting their recommended amount of daily activity.
On average children spend two hours each day inactive and passive while sitting in front of computer or television screens. The majority of children are also being bused or driven to school, a trend that doctors say is contributing to the epidemic of childhood obesity.
According to a national organization on youth activity, encouraging active transportation in children through walking or riding their bikes is the single most important strategy for getting more activity during the day.
Compared to inactive peers, children who are active daily, for an hour or more, do better in school, have fewer behavioural problems, suffer from less anxiety and depression, get sick less often and mature into healthier adults, noted Bratseth and Morwood.
In future presentations the CMA students will help their younger peers map out existing cycling routes as well as future ones. They will teach the elementary students hands-on bike skills. The students will also promote greater participation in Bike to School/Work Week (May 25 to May 31).
“The goal eventually will be to have a K–12 program for active transportation,” said Bratseth.
He applied for and received funding for a bike library that includes 20 mountain bikes which will be used to teach bike skills for children who do not have bikes of their own.
Morwood has been working on the project for the division of family practice and the cycling association and he said he has been “blown away” by all the effort made on behalf of local children. This project is just one small example of that commitment, Morwood said.
“Learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage, one that most children get to experience and be proud of,” he said. “Every ride is different, but whether you are riding for transportation, for exercise or just for fun, you never fully lose the excitement of that first ride. What a bonus that biking is also an antidote to some of the challenges kids face today, including hours of screen time, increased stress, and a lack of outside play time.”
Morwood said the cycling association is working to help make Powell River a place where children can learn to ride safely and comfortably, and can continue riding for as many years as possible. This project is just one more step toward that goal.
