This May, U-Hill Elementary walked and rolled its way towards a more healthy, safe and active community. During the celebration, which was a joint partnership between UTown@UBC and the University Neighborhood Association, students and parents were encouraged to walk or bike to school.

The Walk'n Roll to School Celebration Week led to the organization of five neighbourhood walking school buses, led by parent volunteers clad in yellow "Walk'n Roll" t-shirts and hats. To get students in the swing of things, they were encouraged to walk to school along a supervised designated route. To record their walking, students received a "walking passport" and got a sticker each time they walked or rode to school.

In total roughly 50 students took part each morning and numerous others biked independently and gathered stickers in their passports.

On the last day, the school and its parent volunteers held a celebration rally, with free healthy snacks, where all the students who participated throughout the week turned in their walking passports for the chance to win prizes, including a new bike.

"The students seemed to really enjoy collecting the stickers and were definitely looking forward to the prize draw!" said Gabriella Scali, one of the program's coordinators.

Scali says the support from the U-Hill school community was key to the event's success.

"The support from Kathy Pickford and her staff at U-Hill Elementary School, as well as the U-Hill Elementary PAC has been tremendous, and really helped to make this event such a success," she said. "Many of the teachers even chose to wear yellow for our theme day and some PAC members were actively involved in leading our walking school bus in the morning."